The TMNT of Oz
by Zairihannah
Summary: Oz was odd enough without adding the TMNT to it! When Michelangelo disappears into the world, he and his cat Klunk must live the story to get themselves home. But, considering how turtle luck has played out in the past, things may not be so easy. NOW COMPLETE!
1. The World of Oz

**AN: This idea just came to me this morning when I was trying to think of ideas for one-shots. Basically, it's a TMNT version of **_**The Wizard of Oz**_**. It's told in Mikey's point of view. I've never really cared for how authors tend to portray him as stupid and unobservant. I agree he **_**acts**_** that way, but I think he perceives more than most give him credit for. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the story. Oh, and I don't own any TMNT characters or **_**The Wizard of Oz**_** and characters. I just own the idea of putting them together. Oh, and, if somebody has already done this, then I'm just borrowing the idea and putting my own spin on it!**

**The TMNT of Oz**

A lot of people say I have a vivid imagination. I'd never really taken any of them seriously until one day when I thought I was either having a very realistic, very _weird_ dream, or was slowly losing my grip on my sanity. To this day, I have no idea which, but I guess I'll let you decide.

It was a rainy Monday morning. Or was it Tuesday? Well, it was a rainy Monday or Tuesday morning and I was—what else?—watching television while my bros and sensei were busy doing—whatever it is they do. Sensei had—drum roll please—given us the day off, and we were free to relax and do nothing! Leo was, surprise, surprise, in the dojo running through a series of katas. Figures, we get a day off and he decides to spend it training. Donnie was, naturally, holed up in his lab working on his whatchamacallits and thingamabobs with his gadgets and gizmos a plenty. What, why are you looking at me like that? What's wrong with _The Little Mermaid_? I loved that movie!

Lastly, Raph was—You know, I think he'd gone back to bed, 'cause I hadn't seen him since sensei announced we had the day off. What did this absence of both brothers and father mean?

Movie marathon! Duh! And what was on? Probably about the weirdest movie ever created. Don claims it was based off a book, but, then again, he says that about just about every popular classic.

What movie was I watching? _The Wizard of Oz_! Well, watching isn't exactly the right word. More like I was staring at the screen and wondering who the fool was that had thought up this idea. I mean, seriously? A girl with her dog lands her _house_ on an evil witch, some fairy tells her to follow "the yellow brick road" (Those munchkins creep me out! They remind me of the Elfinator!), she meets a talking scarecrow, tin can, and cowardly lion, some wizard who turns out not to be a real wizard can supposedly help them, flying monkeys kidnap them, and, lastly, she has magical slippers that could take her home the entire time?

I'm sure I missed something, but, as I said, I wasn't really paying _that_ much attention. The part where the girl melts the evil witch is cool though. "I'm _melting_! I'm _melting_!" Geez, no duh! We hadn't noticed!

Up until then, that movie had been nothing more than that: a movie. A stupid, dull movie that I was only watching because it was better than chores or training, I was bored with my videogames for the moment, and I'd read every single one of my comic books like eleven times.

But, I'm getting off topic. The movie was just at the part where the non-wizard "wizard of Oz" flies off in the balloon without the girl, when something weird happened. Klunk, my ninja kitty cat, soared over the back of the couch and scratched and clawed her way into the crook of my neck. I winced and sat up and could only stare at the sight.

An army of flying monkeys was staring up at me, brandishing various forms of ninja weapons. But, believe it or not, that wasn't even the weirdest thing. No, that was the symbol stamped over the heart of their black ninja uniforms.

The Foot. These weren't just flying monkeys. These were flying _ninja_ monkeys.

_Wonderful. I'm having a nervous breakdown_, I grumbled to myself as the room began to spin violently. Me and Klunk fell back onto the couch and I screamed in my very manly, not at all girly, way. (Take that, Raph!) My screams only became louder, not to mention Klunk's cute kitty shrieks, as the couch began to spin like a top, turning the world around me into a blur.

I caught sight of the movie on the screen as the couch, carrying me and Klunk, flew into the screen and passed through it.

That's when the weird sensations began. I felt like I was falling down the rabbit hole in _Alice in Wonderland_, clutching Klunk in my arms like a security blanket. Except, Alice wasn't sitting on a couch, and I wasn't a blonde little girl.

I closed my eyes and hugged Klunk tighter, telling myself over and over that this was all a dream and I would wake up any time now. I was so focused I didn't even notice when the light began to seep through my eyelids, turning my sight a fuzzy pink color. I didn't open my eyes until the couch landed on something soft with a _thud_ and Klunk and I literally rolled off the couch and onto a hard dirt ground.

I sat up and coughed, rubbing the dust, which had been blown up into the air as a cloud in our tumble, from my eyes. "Wha'?"

"THE WICKED WIZARD IS DEAD!" No, I had to be dreaming. That could _not_ be what I thought it was. "THE WICKED WIZARD IS DEAD!"

I fought my way through the cloud of dust until I could begin to make out my surroundings. A strong sense of déjà vu took over my heightened ninja senses and I shivered. _This place looked like the opening scene in the movie_.

My thoughts were interrupted by a _meow_ and a soft, furry head pushing itself against my hand. I scooped Klunk up without a word, tucking her under my chin, as I stared at the chaotic and way-too-creepy scene before me.

The "munchkins" all looked like mini versions of the Purple Dragons. And, weirdest of all, at the center of the dancing ring of the three feet tall thugs stood someone I recognized.

"_Angel_?" I called, staring at my purple haired friend in astonishment. She was wearing a ripped lavender sleeveless dress with a threaded bodice that came to her kneecap. Under that, she wore fishnet stockings and high-heeled black leather boots. Her hair was pulled up in her customary pigtails, but now a crown that looked suspiciously as if it was made of bone adorned her head. On her wrists and fingers were more rings and bracelets than I could count.

"Do I know you?" Angel demanded, planting her hands on her hips. Then her eyes widened as if a thought had just occurred to her. "IT WAS YOU WHO KILLED HIM!

I blinked in confusion. "Him?"

Angel pointed and I followed her finger to where, underneath our blue, moth-eaten couch, was a figure I recognized. "The Shredder?" I asked, my voice sounding foreign and faraway to my own ears. "How is that possible?"

"He was the Wicked Wizard of the East," Angel supplied, her scowl melting into a radiant smile that nearly blinded me. "And you have killed him!"

"HAIL! THE WICKED WIZARD IS DEAD!"

I groaned and clutched my forehead. "I am _so_ dreaming!"

"Nay, fair vagabond," Angel admonished me, hurrying forward and cupping my face in her hands. "You have done us all a great service. We are in your debt. How may we repay you?"

"Uh," I blinked up at her. "Who exactly are you supposed to be?"

"Why!" Angel exclaimed. "I am the Good Witch of the North!" She struck a pose that I suppose was supposed to impress me. "Have you not heard of me?"

"Uh," I attempted. "I'm kinda new here. Do you think you could help me get back to Kansas—I mean, New York?" _Great, maybe I really do watch too much T.V._, I muttered to myself.

Angel tapped her chin. "I, myself, cannot help you, but I know someone who can."

"Let me guess," I interrupted her. "The Wizard of Oz?"

"What?" Angel giggled. "Don't be silly! Wizards are evil! You must visit the Shinobi of Oz!"

Okay, let's recap here. There are flying ninja monkeys, Angel is the Good Witch of the North, Shredder was the Wicked Wizard of the East, and the Wizard of Oz is actually the Shinobi of Oz. Clearly, you have fallen asleep and your subconscious is integrating the movie you just watched with your reality. Which means, that all of the characters in the movie will be "played" by people you know. I'm apparently Dorothy and Klunk's Toto. Okay, I'm a chick. That's just wonderful. The guys will never let me live this down.

"And, as to how to reach him—" Angel began.

Ah, this part I knew! "I follow the yellow brick road?"

Angel stared at me for a moment before bursting into laughter. "Are you serious?!" She guffawed. "There's no such thing as a 'yellow brick road'!" She suddenly stopped laughing and pointed to her direct right. "You follow the Trail of Bushido."

I stared at her for a moment before once again following her finger and laying my eyes on not a yellow, but a _red_ brick road. Well, this is getting off to a weird start. "Uh, thanks," I waved shyly at her before tucking Klunk under my arm, climbing painfully to my feet, and hurrying toward the Trail of Bushido.

I suddenly stopped just before stepping foot on the road and glanced back at Angel. "Just out of curiosity," I pointed at the mini-Purple Dragons still standing in a ring around her. "Who're they?"

"Oh, them?" Angel giggled again. What kind of alternate dimension was this? Angel _never_ giggled! "They're the Purplekins!"

I blinked. Naturally. "Great, just wondering." Now, desperate to get outta this warped dream version of Oz, I hurried down the "red brick road" and on toward the "Shinobi of Oz." Great, things could _seriously_ not get any weirder.

TMNT TMNT TMNT TMNT TMNT

"Okay," I said to myself as I trotted down the "Trail of Bushido" with Klunk at my heels. "Let's review, shall we, Klunkers?" Klunk meowed his consent. "Right. I'm Dorothy and you're Toto. Our couch was Dorothy's house which squashed the Wicked Witch, or, er, in this case, Wizard, of the East, who is apparently Shredder. Makes sense, we finally 'shredded' him. Eh, Klunkers?" I swear, if cats could roll their eyes, Klunk just did. "Yeah, okay, moving on. Angel is the Good Witch of the North. The Purple Dragons, or _Purplekins_, are the munchkins, and the 'yellow brick road' is actually a _red_ brick road and it's called the Trail of Bushido. And, we take this Trail to see, not the Wizard of Oz, but the Shinobi of Oz. Oh, and there's flying ninja monkeys. Did I miss anything?" Klunk meowed in response.

"Right," I continued as we approached a cornfield. "So, let's think about the characters in this story. If I'm supposed to be Dorothy, then there must be a Scarecrow, a Tin Can," Klunk meowed. "Sorry, Klunkers. Tin _Man_. Better? And a Cowardly Lion. Now, who might they be?"

"Excuse me?" A sudden voice to my left asked.

I jumped about a yard. "AAAAHHHH!" After I was back on the ground, I spun around and came face-to-face with a scarecrow stuck on a stick.

I blinked in confusion. "Donnie?"

"Um," my brother who currently looked like a scarecrow blinked. "No, my name's just Scarecrow, but you can call me that if you'd like." My brother, er, I mean, _Scarecrow_, squirmed. "Could you get me down from here? This stick is very uncomfortable."

"Uh," I looked the scarecrow up and down, just to make sure it really was supposed to be Donnie, purple mask and all. Why the heck did a scarecrow need a ninja mask? "Sure." I reached up and wasn't actually surprised to find I could easily lift my brother. I hooked my arms under his and lifted him clear off the stick before lifting him above the fence surrounding the cornfield and setting him down on the Trail beside me.

"Thank you," Donnie said, spitting out some straw and straightening his shirt. "You are too kind! May I ask, where are you headed?"

"Uh," this was going to take getting some used to. "To see the Shinobi of Oz. The Good Witch of the North said he could send me back to Kansas—I mean, New York." Sheesh, was I going to mess that up everytime?

Donnie's eyes suddenly widened and he gripped my shoulders with a strength you wouldn't think a straw-filled turtle could have. "Do you think he could give me a brain?"

I stared at my "genius" brother. Was he serious? What was wrong with my subconscious? Did it seriously think Donnie needed a brain? "Maybe."

"Oh, thank you, kind stranger!" Donnie exclaimed. "I am forever in your debt! How might I, a humble scarecrow, repay you for your generosity?! The glorious ecstasy I feel at this possible benevolence the good Shinobi of Oz might bestow on a humble serf such as I is uncanny!"

I stared at my brother. If I really concentrated, I could sorta follow what he said, but he kind of lost me towards the end there. "Remind me why you need a brain again?"

"To be smart!" Donnie exclaimed. "My intelligence is far below that of any common serf! Why, I am ashamed at my lack of aptitude for such simple things! If the good Shinobi would be so kind as to grant my request, I would forever be filled with gratitude! As would I to you, if you would allow me to accompany you on such a perilous journey!"

Okay, seriously, why was Donnie talking like a knight out of Camelot? This was just getting ridiculous. "Uh, that's okay. I could use the company. My cat doesn't exactly talk back."

"Oh!" Donnie exclaimed. "A _Felis catus_! Oh, it is quite an exquisite example, indeed! What is its name?"

"Uh, Klunk," I answered bluntly.

"Fascinating!" Donnie exclaimed, reaching for my cat and scooping her up. "May I hold him?"

"Her," I corrected. "And sure. But, shouldn't we get going?"

"Oh, yes," Donnie nodded eagerly, falling into step behind me. "Let us go meet the good Shinobi of Oz!"

TMNT TMNT TMNT TMNT TMNT

All right, Donnie's the Scarecrow. He, Klunk, and I are currently walking down the Trail of Bushido, the "red brick road," on our way to see the Shinobi of Oz. Donnie talked about a mile a minute, maybe more, and I could only follow about forty-five percent of what he was saying. Which is, less than half, by the way. Logically, if Donnie was the Scarecrow, then it stands to reason that Leo and Raph are probably going to be the Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion. An odd thought, but I suppose it made sense if I thought about it.

I was distracted when the monotonous tone of my brother's excited voice suddenly stopped, as did he himself, and I plowed into him. Unfortunately, most likely due to the fact that he was made of straw, he fell flat on his face. In another incidence, I probably would have laughed, but I was too distracted by what had made him stop in the first place.

I really shouldn't be surprised by now, but, yet, I still was. There stood the Tin Man, frozen but not from rust, but shock. But, instead of an axe, he wielded before him two katanas, and one was currently being held at the throat of a man sprawled at his feet. The oddest thing, though, was that he was clearly not actually a tin man. In fact, he was my brother Leo wearing various metal plates over sensitive body parts.

Okay, now I was beyond confused. My subconscious was really messing with me now. I was weaponless and there stood my brother with his two katanas—two very _sharp_ katanas, might I add—and he was currently giving both me and Donnie, who was still sprawled face first on the ground, the death glare.

"Who are you?" He spat in a voice I had not heard him use in a long time. It was the same voice he'd often spoke in after our last battle with the Utrom Shredder. When he went all moody and Raph on us. When, for the first time in my life, I had actually been afraid of one of my brothers. "And what do you want?"

"Hey, Leo," I waved uncertainly. "Are you in this dream too?" I smiled cheekily, brandishing my patented puppy-dog eyes for all they were worth, my eyes not leaving his swords.

My brother growled. "Why is it that you address me by such an odd name? I go by the Tin Man. I am an assassin, bane and offspring of the Shinobi of Oz, he who shunned me when I lost," his head suddenly fell, "my honor." His head jerked up once more as he glared daggers at me. "Why do you mock me?"

"Uh," now I was lost. Okay, Leo was supposed to be a ninja assassin _called_ the Tin Man, but not actually a tin man? And he was the son of the Shinobi of Oz? And what the heck did he mean by 'bane'? Wait, why was I asking myself when I had a walking encyclopedia still sprawled at my feet. "Hey, Donnie?"

My scarecrow of a brother sat up and stared at me with wide eyes. "It's sort of like a worst enemy."

Sheesh, even in my dreams Donnie can read my mind. Now, I focused my attention to my still glaring brother. He was now fully facing us, his swords crossed to form an X and pointed at the ground. However, I knew that, if either me or Donnie, heck, even Klunk, made a wrong move, he could have those swords at our throats faster than Raph when he was chasing me.

"Who are you?" He asked again, his eyes cold and emotionless. I shivered. Those eyes were _way_ too like my _other_ brother. The one I'd rather not have to meet, let alone deal with, again.

"My name's Michelangelo," I said softly, not wanting to startle him. "But you can call me Mikey. I'm a friend, and I didn't mean to insult you. What did you mean you said 'lost your honor'?" I blinked inwardly at that. Wait, his honor? Wasn't the Tin Man supposed to want a heart?

Leo growled and finally sheathed his swords. "Let us just say that my father and I had a little," he paused, "disagreement." He kicked the man at his feet, who I, up until then, had completely forgotten about. "My father sent this scum to deal with me quietly. He does not wish to have it publicly known that I am the infamous Tin Man." He grinned wickedly. "Where are you going, my friend?"

Great, he'd called me 'friend.' That was getting somewhere. "Um, we're sorta going to your dad's."

His smile faltered for a moment before it suddenly broadened. "Could I, perhaps, accompany you?"

I blinked, fairly certain it was a question with no real answer besides the one he wanted. My eyes flashed to the swords sheathed on his back before I flashed him a grin. "Sure, dude, be our guest."

"You will not pull out my straw, will you?" Donnie asked from his place still on the ground. Basically, he hadn't moved since I'd plowed into him. The Tin Man stared down at him in confusion while I reached down and picked him up without a word, setting him on his feet.

"Thank you," Donnie sniffed before returning his attention to Leo. "I will need your word on your life that you will not harm me or my companion," Klunk meowed. "Or the cat."

Leo shrugged and stepped forward to join us. Both Donnie and I took an unconscious step back and Leo smiled ruthlessly. "I swear on my life."

Well, I would sure be happy once I woke up and Leo was back to normal. Heck, I might even hug the guy with relief at that point. He'd probably take my temperature and then send me to bed, but it was better than having to deal with Mr. Moody all over again.

For that matter, I'd be happy once _Donnie_ was back to normal. My genius brother wasn't normally this timid. Why should he be? He could kick butt just as good as the rest of us! Except, his new frailty, mostly due to the whole scarecrow thing, was kinda unnerving.

Maybe somehow one of our many enemies had done something to me and made me experience this twisted reality as torture. I could name them off. Stockman, Bishop, Karai aided by Chaplin. The list pretty much stopped there, but that was good enough for me.

TMNT TMNT TMNT TMNT TMNT

I think it's safe to say the silence that followed my little exchange with Leo was deafening. Klunk seemed to be the only one not bothered by it, which made sense, considering the fact that she was a cat. I'd had to pick the little girl up because her little kitty paws could only go so far. Heck, _I _could only go so far. I considered myself to be in pretty good shape, but this Trail of Bushido was awfully long.

Both Leo and Donnie didn't seem at all bothered by the distance we had walked. Donnie probably because he was made of straw (a weird thought) and he didn't have any real muscles, bones, or nerves, so he probably couldn't feel much at all. Leo, because—uh, well, he always had been in better shape than me. I was trotting behind him with Klunk on my shoulder. Donnie and I had _insisted_ that Leo lead the way, mostly because neither of us trusted him behind us.

Some time ago, we had entered a forest, and now I'm guessing we were near its heart. The trees were so thick that barely any daylight could stream through, and the foliage was so thick, that it felt more like a rainforest than a plain forest. I was just waiting for somebody to jump out and say "Lions and tigers and bears, OH MY!" But, none did.

I knew that this was the part of the movie where Dorothy, the Tin Man, and the Scarecrow met the Cowardly Lion, who I'm assuming is Raph. Donnie was an actual scarecrow; Leo _wasn't_ an actual tin man. Would Raph be an _actual_ lion or some other weird thing like Leo? Who knew? This was Raph we're talking about here.

Just then, a rustling in the bushes to the left of us startled me out of my thoughts and somebody ran to block me from view. I'm not exactly sure _why_. It wasn't as if I couldn't handle myself.

"Who goes there?!" Leo. Clearly, he wasn't the one currently blocking me from view and shoving me back behind him when I made to sneak past, so that must be Donnie. That was weird considering Donnie's tendency toward cowardice in this reality.

A very familiar growl and a pounce later, and I was finally able to fight past Donnie and get a look at the scene before me. Well, first things first. Raph was _not_ a real lion. He was, however, a turtle wearing a lion's skin draped over his head. He brandished a short sword in his hands as he and Leo wrestled on the ground for control.

Heh, even in this weird place, Leo and Raph still fight. Some things never change.

The struggle lasted for a little longer before Leo managed to slam Raph on his shell and climb on top of his plastron, effectively pinning him. "Outlaw!" He spat. "You must be this Lion's Mane person I've been hearing so much about!"

"Ya flatter ma, Tin Man." Wow. Even in here, Raph has a Brooklyn accent. Weird. "Ya actchallay know ma?"

"Silence, peasant!" Leo spat, unsheathing one of his katanas and holding it to Raph's throat. "Or I will do it for you!"

"Hey, wait!" I tried to rush forward but Donnie grabbed me from behind and hauled me back. My shell hit his plastron and he grunted, but still held me firm. I wanted to curse at him, but I had to keep Leo from killing Raph! Knowing him in this reality, he'd do it too! "Don't hurt him!"

"And why not?" Leo growled, turning his hate-filled eyes on me. "This outlaw has been nothing but trouble for the good people of Oz for years. He and his men ravage towns, raid storage houses, and steal from those who have nothing!" His sword moved another inch closer to Raph's throat. "You die here, filth!"

"Don't do it!" I cried, struggling against Donnie. How the heck could a straw-filled scarecrow be so dang strong?! "Donnie, let me go!"

"I am sorry, Michelangelo." At the sound of Donnie's voice, I turned and looked at him, my eyes widening in surprise. My brother was no longer a scarecrow, but he was dressed in a long and flowing purple wizard's robe adorned in question marks and numbers. However, his purple pointed hat did somewhat resemble the hat he'd worn as a scarecrow.

"Who are you?" I growled, suddenly angry. I didn't care who was behind this, I'd kill them all!

Donnie said nothing as he wrapped one arm around me and used the other to draw a twisted stick with a glowing orb at the top out of his robe. _A wand_, I thought. "What are you doing?!"

Donnie ignored me as he focused his attention on Raph. "State your name and business, Lion's Mane."

Raph grunted as Leo suddenly slid off of him and hauled him to his feet. I was a little surprised to find that Leo was a good eight inches taller, but Raph was thick and heavyset, his muscles a little more pronounced. He growled as Leo yanked his arms behind his back, his shell slamming against Leo's plastron. I noticed Leo wince slightly, but he recovered quickly as he lifted his katana and held it at Raph's throat, his other arm wrapped around Raph.

I could only watch as Leo raised his eyes and locked them on Donnie. "You must be the Sorcerer. You have been known to disguise yourself as a scarecrow so often using Dark Magic, that you have become known as the Scarecrow."

Wait, so _none_ of my brothers were actually the characters from the movie? My confusion had progressed so far that I felt like I was flailing around in the middle of the ocean. If something didn't happen soon, I was going to lose it.

Okay, Donnie wasn't an actual scarecrow. He was some sorcerer who was sometimes _called_ the Scarecrow. Leo wasn't an actual tin man; he was a ninja assassin _called_ the Tin Man. Raph wasn't an actual lion; he was an outlaw _named_ Lion's Mane. Now my subconscious really was messing with me.

"Okay, hold up!" Struggling against Donnie was useless, but that didn't mean I couldn't try. I'm not sure why he was so strong all of the sudden, even if he wasn't an actual scarecrow, but I didn't waste time thinking about it. "What is going on here? Am I dreaming? Was I captured and taken to Stockman and he's now testing some new reality device thingy on me? Or am I just going insane?"

My three brothers all looked at each other, something that struck me as odd, and turned as one to look at me. It was Leo who spoke up first. "No."

"No what?" I asked, reaching down to try to pry Donnie's hand from my side.

"No to all of those," Donnie answered, adjusting his hold on me as he returned the wand to his robe. He, Leo, and Raph shared another look before Donnie returned his attention to me, smiling down at me fondly.

That's when I realized something. My brothers were all the heights of normal human beings, although they were turtles, but I was still my normal height. Which meant that they all pretty much towered over me, except for Raph, who was apparently on the short side.

Donnie sighed and laid his cheek on the top of my head. "Michelangelo, when you look at us, what do you see?"

I would have looked up at him, but his head was keeping mine still. "My three brothers: Leonardo, Raphael, and Donatello."

Donnie nodded as he raised his head once more, locking gazes with me. "You are not dreaming, nor are you being experimented on, nor are you going insane. You are in the world of Oz."

"Okay, I got that," I began uncertainly. "What exactly does that mean?"

It was Leo this time who answered. "Oz is neither another world nor another dimension. It is a state of mind," I blinked up at him. "Occasionally, there are those, like yourself, who enter this state of mind, and you perceive our world in the eyes of your reality." He cocked his head as he sheathed his katana, releasing Raph and holding out his arms.

It took me a minute to realize he was holding out his arms for _me_. Donnie passed me over without a word and I realized that Leo must have been well over six feet tall as he locked his arms around me. "The movie that you were watching tells the story of a girl who also entered this state." He shook his head. "The story was passed down through time before one writer chose to record it in the book. Your perception, however, is much different than hers. You see the 'characters,' as you call us, in light of people you know, yours friends, and your foes."

"Soooo," I mentally scratched my head since my arms were pinned to my sides, and Leo was far stronger than Donnie. "How do I get _out_ of this state of mind?"

It was Raph's turn to explain. "Ya go through wit' the story."

I blinked at him. "So, I just finish the 'movie' and I'll be home?"

"Had you not noticed that you received nothing from the Wicked Wizard of the East, the one called Shredder in your reality?" Donnie asked.

No, actually, I hadn't. That's right! In the original movie, Dorothy received red ruby slippers after her house fell on and consequently killed the Wicked Witch of the East! But, I hadn't received anything like that.

"Those slippers were her key home," Leo picked up on his explanation. "Yours will be much different. You must finish the story, and then all will be revealed."

"Okay," I said meekly. There was a flash of light, and, suddenly, the scene was back to where it was before with me locked in Donnie's arms and Leo on top of Raph, holding a katana to his throat.

**AN: Okay, I have no idea where all that "state of mind" stuff came from. I just started writing, and that's what happened. Anyway, this was supposed to be a one-shot, but it was getting kind of long, and it's nowhere near done, so it will probably end up being three or four chapters. And, yes, you all probably hate me for ending it right there, but the second chapter should be up soon. I just need to write it first. And, before you leave, please do leave a review! And critiques and suggestions are always welcome! This story turned more confusing than originally anticipated!**


	2. A Touch of Reality

**AN: Well, after writing nonstop for nearly two hours, I managed to finish this! A guest reviewer (you know who you are) requested Donnie/ Mikey fluff, and I hope that you will like what I came up with. At first, I didn't think it would work with this story, but you gave me an excellent plot twist! So thanks! Anyway, thank you to all who reviewed and I hope you enjoy this chapter! P.S. I ended up deleting this and reposting this the next day because I realized there were a lot of typing errors in it. Anyway, nothing major changed, just the mistakes were corrected.**

**A Touch of Reality**

Oz was most definitely _not_ what I expected it to be. First off, my couch killed the Shredder, known as the Wicked Wizard of the East in here. Angel, the Good Witch of the North, with her Purplekins, mini versions of the Purple Dragons, "introduced" me to this strange world and pointed me to, no, not the "yellow brick road," but the "_red_ brick road" named the Trail of Bushido which was supposed to lead, not to the Wizard of Oz, but the _Shinobi_ of Oz. On our way down the Trail of Bushido, Klunk and I ran into the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion, "played" by my three brothers. However, turns out that Donnie was a Sorcerer only _sometimes_ _referred_ to as the Scarecrow; Leo was a ninja assassin _known as_ the Tin Man; and Raph was an outlaw _named_, not even the Cowardly Lion, but Lion's Mane. Plus, apparently, Oz is a state of mind which people once every hundred years or something like that will enter. The only way out is to finish the "movie."

That should pretty much recap where I am at this point. I am currently being restrained by Donnie, who, for some reason, is a scarecrow again, while Leo is on top of Raph with one of his katanas held to his throat. Klunk's nowhere in sight, but I'm guessing she's probably just hiding somewhere nearby. My brothers, mainly Leo and Donnie, had just finished telling me about Oz being a state of mind and having to finish the "movie," when this weird flash of light happened and it was as if the conversation never happened.

Heck, at this point, I was seriously wondering if maybe it _hadn't_ actually happened. Unless. They had said I was living the "movie." Was it, like, possible to pause the movie or something? That might explain the weird conversation and the sudden abrupt return to where we had been before it took place.

Huh. See? I can think when I need to. But, right now, I'm more concerned with keeping Leo from slitting Raph's throat. You see, here in Oz, Leo's a ruthless assassin and also the son and "bane" of the Shinobi of Oz. He was like he had been back after our last defeat of the Utrom Shredder, except worse. He was more than just angry and depressed. He was violent and merciless. And, frankly, he was giving me the creeps.

"Wait a minute!" I exclaimed, causing an extremely _pissed_ Leo to glare murderously at me. My mind was racing a mile a minute. I'd had to mentally rewind my memory until I could remember exactly what the Tin Man had accused Lion's Mane of, and something didn't sit right. Raph was supposed to be an outlaw who was basically, along with a band of fellow outlaws, harassing the people of Oz, right? But, if Leo was at odds with his father, who I'm assuming is supposed to be like the ruler of this place, why would he care about the people? "What you said earlier," I spoke slowly, cautious of choosing the right words. I certainly didn't want him turning on _me_, after all. "About how he's harassing the people of Oz."

"Does this have a point?" He growled and I visibly flinched.

I had to take time to steel my nerve before I finished. "Why would you care about that? Didn't you say you were at odds with your dad?"

Leo appeared momentarily startled at my words, before they must have sunk in and he snarled. "My _father_ cares nothing for his people. He is no better than this _filth_!" He poked Raph's neck with the tip of his katana, drawing one single drop of blood from the microscopic wound.

That most _certainly_ wasn't the response I'd expected. "Then, you're more like a rebel or something?" Leo grunted. "Tell me, Le—I mean, Tin Man." He finally met my gaze, his eyes intense and searching mine. "You say that you lost your honor. But, does that mean that you no longer feel honor bound by the way of Bushido? Don't you still feel as if you are accountable for your actions?" I wasn't really sure where these words were coming from. I was rarely as dead serious as I was right then, let alone almost _articulate_—that was usually Donnie's turf. But, I just knew that I'd struck a nerve somewhere deep underneath the metaphorical armor he was wearing.

He watched me for a moment, analyzing my body posture and probably looking for insincerity in my words. Leo had always been good at reading people, particularly me. Although, I've always been a pretty open person. I'm not ashamed of who I am. "How do you know of my commitment to the way of Bushido?" He spoke quietly and in a voice much more like the brother I knew and loved (even if I wouldn't care to admit that).

"In my world," I began, copying his tone, "you are a ninja as well. But, you are dedicated to honor and the way of Bushido. You would never take it upon yourself to deal justice on someone. Not in this way, anyway."

Leo seemed to be digesting my words, staring down at Raph as if he were thinking. Raph hadn't moved or said much since he'd ambushed us and had that little scuffle with Leo. I was just hoping Raph wouldn't be his usual stubborn boar of a self and would answer humbly. (Yeah, humility is _not_ Raph's best trait, as you all probably know.) "You have said nothing in your defense, villain," Leo's tone was gruffer and louder this time, but the softness was still there.

Raph grunted and shifted, and I could tell he was uncomfortable. Leo had been kneeling on top of him for quite some time, and, in this world, Leo was quite a bit bigger. That could _not_ be a comfortable position. "Why botter?" He wheezed. "Ya see me as no betta than the dirt coatin' this forest floor. Why would ya's listen to _filth_ such as mahself?" Oh, there's the arrogance I was _really_ hoping he would avoid.

I turned my attention back to Leo, hoping he wouldn't react with indignation and slash Raph's throat for his impudence. (Yeah, I know that word. And Donnie thinks I don't have much of a vocabulary.) "Speak. I will hear you." Was his simple, thankfully calm, response.

Raph looked completely caught off guard as he grunted once again, shaking his head back and forth. I waited breathlessly for the next agonizing moments, waiting for him to speak. "A'right." Raph grunted. "I'll admit I've done some right bad things in the past. But, that was years ago. An', fer the record, I never touched no women or children. An' me and my boys only took wha' we needed. Still," he sighed, laying his head back against the forest floor, "when I expressed the desire to stop it all, ma boys turned on me." I visibly winced at what must have been a painful memory. "I never thought they would. They'd always fahllad ma 'fore. 'Parently, they only fahllad ma when it suited 'em." He sighed once more. "I've been livin' here, hidin' from 'em. I know I've done wrong, but that's all behind ma. I changed."

That was a long speech for Raph, but I could tell by the look that now occupied Leo's face that he had believed every word. With no indication that he did or even really acknowledging he had spoken at all, he stood and reached down to haul Lion's Mane to his feet. Raph watched him for a moment before he nodded curtly and pulled away, bowing to me.

Leo turned to me as well and bowed, although his was much deeper. "Thank you, friend. You have kept me from making a dreadful mistake and sacrificing my ideals. I am in your debt."

"No prob'," I shrugged. "But, could ya tell Scarecrow here ta lemme go?"

Donnie chuckled as he withdrew his arm from around me and stepped back. I glanced back, eying him up and down. Yup. He most definitely was a scarecrow again. Was that significant? I was wondering if I should ask when my thoughts were interrupted by a small meow.

"Klunkers!" I exclaimed, turning to find my baby girl blinking up at me from her place sitting on the forest floor. She was covered from head to toe in dirt, but I didn't care. I scooped her up and rubbed her soft furry hide against my cheek. "Don' _do_ that, Klunky! You scared Daddy!"

When I turned back around, I found my three brothers giving me strange looks, but they must have decided to just let it slide. "Well!" I chirped, tucking Klunk into the crook of my neck as I strolled past my brothers and on down the forest trail. "Shall we all head to the Shinobi then?"

TMNT TMNT TMNT TMNT TMNT

Something was definitely up with Donnie. I'd been watching him pretty closely ever since the whole him turning into a Sorcerer and then back into a scarecrow thing. We'd had to stop for the night near the edge of the woods, even though in the original movie I can't recall them ever doing that.

Then again, a lot of what I was currently experiencing hadn't happened in the movie. Anyway, back to Donnie. I was sitting hunched over with my head in my hands, staring into the fire that Raph had made. Apparently, he's a big outdoorsy person in this place. He hadn't said more than two words to me, which had been "Move, kid" when he'd been tending to the fire and I'd been in the way, and I couldn't figure out why. I mean, I'd basically saved his skin, and he couldn't even bring himself to thank me?

Of course, the real Raph wouldn't have either, so maybe that was a good sign. I was surprised to find that Leo, when he wasn't being all assassin-y and holding swords to people's throats, wasn't actually much different from the Leo in my world.

No, it was Donnie who had me baffled. He'd turned back into his bumbling, timid scarecrow self, and I was thoroughly confused. I _knew_ I'd seen him turn into a real person. I just _knew_ it. He was a Sorcerer known as the Scarecrow because he liked to disguise himself as one.

Right? Leo had moved off farther into the woods, claiming he was going to do some exercises (sheesh, he's an overachiever in this world too), and Raph had disappeared hours ago after building the fire. I think he may have gone hunting, but I don't remember him saying anything. Donnie was lying a few feet from the logs Raph had ringed the fire with on a bed of pine needles he'd made. He hadn't done or said much in a few hours, but I was determined to change that.

I needed answers. "Hey, Scarecrow?" I swung around and stood up, walking around the ring of logs to sit cross-legged beside my brother.

"Yes, Michelangelo?" Donnie sat up, crossing his straw-filled legs and smiling at me in that goofy way of his. "Are they not beautiful?"

"What?" I craned my head back to see if I could catch sight of what he had been apparently looking at, but I didn't see anything.

Donnie motioned me closer. I obeyed without much thought, following his finger when he pointed up. Through a small opening in the canopy sheltering our heads, I could just see the dottings of stars. Having lived in New York City my entire life, the only stars I'd ever seen were those at Casey's grandma's house.

And, let me tell you something. You have not _seen_ stars until you've spent a night in Oz. The sky was so chock full of them, that the sky appeared to be white with patches and dottings of black here and there. It was a little disconcerting, but I could definitely see Donnie's point. They definitely were interesting to look at. "You mean the stars?"

Donnie nodded, leaning back on his arms to smile goofily up at the star-blanketed sky. "Did you know that they are really balls of gas hung on nothing millions of billions of miles out in space? And we are actually seeing the light that took years to reach Oz?"

I nodded. "Yeah, you—I mean, the you in my world—you told me stuff like that all the time." I sighed, letting my head fall into my open palms. "There was a farmhouse we used to visit every once 'n awhile, just to get away, you know?" Donnie nodded, encouraging me to go on. "Well, there were times when you'd drag me up on the rooftop and point out all the constellations to me." I smiled fondly at the memory. "I never remembered half of them the next day, but that didn't matter." I shrugged and sighed. "I just liked spending time with you. You see, in my world, you're big into inventing and stuff. You're a genius and all. And, you're always working on something or other, and you just never seem to have time just to—I don't know—hang out me." I wasn't sure why I was telling him all of this. He wasn't _my_ Donnie. He was just a "character" in this movie that I was perceiving as my brother. Heck, he wasn't even _real_.

And that's when it happened. "I am real, Michelangelo." My head snapped up and I stared at Donnie in shock and amazement.

My brother, once again a Sorcerer, smiled fondly at me. "Your brothers may not be here in the flesh, but the memories you have of them have affected myself and the others." He cocked his head, his sorcerer's hat threatening to fall off. He reached up to shove it back up and I giggled. He shook his head and reached out to rub the top of mine. "Basically, it is as if we were imprinted with negatives of your brothers' personalities from your memory."

I cocked my head. "So, is that why you guys seem to be bipolar half the time? You have multiple personality syndrome?"

Donnie laughed and shook his head. "As Leonardo said, Oz may be neither another dimension nor another world, but it is real."

Now I was confused. "Didn't you say it was a state of mind?"

Donnie shook his head again. "I believe it was Leonardo who said that as well—" He suddenly paused and shook his head again, but, this time, it looked as if he had water in his ear. Then, the oddest thing yet happened. "Mikey, I don't have much time!"

It's safe to say I was more than a little shocked to hear _my_ Donnie's voice come from this Donnie. Not that their voices were different; they just spoke differently. "Donnie, is that you?"

"Mikey, thank goodness!" Donnie exclaimed. "You've been passed out on the couch for three days! We haven't been able to reach you! Sensei says that you're in a trance or something. Your body is still here at home but your mind is elsewhere!"

"I'm in Oz," I explained, surprised at how calm I sounded. "I was sitting and watching the movie when these flying ninja monkeys showed up, chasing Klunk, and we were thrown into the TV."

Donnie stared at me. "Oz?"

"Yeah, as in _The Wizard of Oz_?" I shook my head. "Seriously, Donnie, didn't you have a childhood?"

Donnie glared at me, suddenly seeming angry. "Mikey, this isn't a game! Your body is losing the connection with your mind. If you don't escape 'Oz' or wherever you are within the next twenty-four hours, sensei is afraid it may be severed completely. You'll be trapped!"

I blinked. "Is this a practical joke?"

Donnie shook his head once more, clearly desperate. "I think this place is acting almost like a movie. Every time it 'pauses,' we can sense it. I was able to hack into my doppelganger and use him to communicate with you, but I don't have much time. You have to get out of there!" Donnie reached out and grabbed my shoulders, shaking me back and forth.

I hadn't realized just how much I missed my brothers until Donnie had hijacked this Donnie's brain and showed up out of the blue. "I can't, Donnie." It was all I could do to keep my voice from cracking. "They said I have to finish the movie. I can't leave until I do."

Donnie had noticed the crack. "Oh, Mikey."

Now the tears were threatening to spill down my cheeks. "I'm scared, Donnie." Without a word, Donnie held out his arms, and I crawled into them like I was a little child. I didn't care. This whole thing was creeping me out. Twenty-four hours? Was he serious? If I had been out for three days already, how long was twenty-four hours in this world? I had only been here for what seemed like that amount of time! I was screwed!

"Shh, it's okay, Mikey," Donnie soothed me, rubbing my carapace and nuzzling my temple with his beak. "I'll find a way," his look turned defiant. "I don't care what sensei says. There has to be another way!" He pulled away from me and held me at his arms' length. "Just remember, Mikey. We're all right here. _I'm_ right here. You are _not_ alone."

"Easy for you to say," I sniffled, rubbing at my still watering eyes. "You ain't stuck in a movie."

Donnie sighed and reached out to gently thump me upside the head. Then his face pinched up and he doubled over in pain. "I'm losing my hold on him! You have to try, Mikey!" He winced. "I love you!"

"Donnie, don't go!" I cried, suddenly terrified that now might be the last time I would ever see my brother again.

"Go?" Donnie asked. But, it wasn't _my_ Donnie. It was _this_ Donnie. "Go where? I was not going anywhere."

I rubbed once more at my eyes before turning away, shaking my head. "I have to get out of here!" I took a shuddering breath. "I don' wanna be trapped here forever!"

Donnie cocked his head, staring at me. "Your brother Donatello used me as a window to communicate with you." I nodded, and Donnie's brow furrowed in concentration. "If he was able to do that, he may be able to join you." He closed his eyes and scrunched them in concentration. "Yes," they snapped open so fast that I started. "It can be done."

I blinked in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Donnie cocked his head at me. "I am not supposed to do this." He furrowed his brow once more and looked at me out of the corner of his eye. "You do not have much time." He sighed and shook his head forlornly. "He is indeed correct. But, I have a way to bring your brother here."

My eyes widened and I suddenly shook my head. "NO! Then he'll be stuck here too!"

Donnie shook his head at me in sympathy. "My dear Michelangelo, your brothers care for you greatly. Donatello can only do so much for you out there. You are acting as Dorothy, correct?" I nodded, dumbfounded. "I can allow your brother's subconscious to completely take over my avatar. He would become the Scarecrow and would live the movie with you. However, he would have more time than you do and would be in no danger of becoming trapped."

I shook my head. I wanted nothing more than to have one of my _real_ brothers in here with me, but it seemed all too good to be true. "What if something goes wrong?" But, he wasn't listening to me. "SCARECROW!"

Donnie shivered for a moment before his body began to glow and shake. I scrambled backwards on my hands and knees, fascinated, stunned, and terrified all at once. Then the weird bright light nearly blinded me, and I had to slam my eyelids shut to avoid its finishing the job.

After a long stretched out silence in which I wondered if Scarecrow had just committed mental suicide by attempting such a thing, a voice that was music to my ears softly asked. "Mikey? Is that you?"

My eyes flew open and I leveled them at Donnie. It was official. The movie had been "unpaused" and Donnie was once again a scarecrow who stood an inch and a half shorter than me. Except, he wasn't _this_ Donnie.

He was _my_ Donnie! "Donnie!" I tackled him in a hug and his protests were muffled as I clung to him for dear life.

"Dear Oz, I leave fer two hours an' ya two are suddenly all cuddly." Both Donnie and I jerked up at hearing Raph's voice. The turtle stared at Donnie in confusion, cocking his head. I wondered if he could sense the difference. "Ya feelin' a'right, Scarecrow?"

Donnie glanced down at himself and must have gotten the shock of his life at finding he was indeed a scarecrow. He glanced at me for an explanation, but I shrugged. I was still too ecstatic that he was actually _here_ to try to explain his role to him.

Raph shrugged. "A'right, I found mer wood fer the fire." Raph tossed his armful of wood down outside the ring of logs, eying us once more before turning and disappearing back into the forest.

Donnie swung around to stare at me with wide eyes. "What just happened? How did I get here? Was that really Raph? Why was he wearing a lion's skin?"

"Bro," I laughed, shaking my head. "You're never gonna believe this."

TMNT TMNT TMNT TMNT TMNT

"So, let me get this straight," Donnie said. "The Scarecrow who you were perceiving as me somehow pulled me in here with you in order to make sure that your connection with your body is not severed?"

I shrugged. "I guess so." Then I snapped my fingers and Donnie jumped.

He hissed. "Mikey, don't _do_ that!"

"Sorry," I shook my head. "I just realized I never did ask him about why he's a Scarecrow while the movie's playing but a Sorcerer when it's paused."

Donnie stared at me, slowly shaking his head. "I can't _believe_ this is happening." He groaned and clutched his head. "This just cannot be! So, you're saying that this is all just a _figment of my imagination_?"

I shrugged again. "Leo put it as a 'state of mind.' I think that implies a little more than just a figment of our imaginations."

Donnie groaned. "Master Splinter, Leo, and Raph must be freaking out right now! They don't know what happened!"

I frowned. "Maybe," I glanced back at the fire, "and maybe not." I turned back to Donnie, who must be having a mental breakdown from experiencing something that in his mind just _could not be_. "Sensei knew what had happened to _me_. I'll bet he knows what happened to you too."

Donnie grumbled and shifted in his seat. "All right, so what now?"

I sighed and rubbed my suddenly tired eyes. "We finish the movie."

"That's it?!" My genius brother exclaimed. "Finish the movie? There must be another way! There's just GOTTA be! None of this makes any SENSE!"

"What does not make sense, Scarecrow?" Both Donnie and I jumped, swinging around to stare at Leo. Donnie did a once over of our brother with his eyes and something must have actually clicked in his brain.

"Are you the Tin Man?" He asked bluntly.

Leo stared at him. "Did we not already discuss this?"

"Of course!" I exclaimed. "Do—I mean, Scarecrow's just not feeling all that great right now. You really should lie down, Scarecrow! We have a busy day tomorrow, don't we?"

Donnie stared at me as if I had just sprouted wings and a tail, but seemed to catch on. "Uh, yeah. I'm not feeling that well. I think I'll lie down."

"Why do you speak so strangely, Scarecrow?" Leo asked, cocking his head in interest. "You are speaking as Michelangelo does." His eyes narrowed in thought. "Has something occurred that you did not feel the need to inform me of?"

"NO!" We both exclaimed at once, holding up our hands as if to ward off all of his questions. "Nothing like that," I assured him, motioning at Donnie to lie down as we had said he would. "You know we'd tell you if anything—_off_—happened, Tin Man."

Leo stared at me intensely, and I cursed his powers of perception, my smile growing faker and wider as I attempted to look as innocent as possible. "Really!"

Leo either decided he believed me (unlikely) or just decided to drop it (_most_ likely) because he shook his head and turned to lie down on his own bed of needles. I breathed a sigh of relief as I crawled over to curl up to Donnie.

"Mikey," he hissed at me without turning over. "Why am I an actual scarecrow but Leo isn't an actual tin man?"

I shrugged as I tucked my head against the back of my brother's neck. "I'm as clueless as you, dude. Remember, I didn't get the chance to ask the other you before he pulled the whole switchamaroo thing."

Donnie scowled. "Why was _I_ the one who was pulled in with you?"

"'Cause you're my favorite brother?"

"Shut up and go to sleep, Mikey." Donnie grumbled. Don't have to tell me twice. This day just kept getting weirder.

I smiled, knowing that the shape I was curled against was not an indifferent stranger with my brother's face, but my actual brother.

Yeah, I had missed Donnie the most out of all of my brothers, but you didn't hear that from me.

TMNT TMNT TMNT TMNT TMNT

I guess the movie must have decided to go easy on me, for the next morning pretty much went on without a hitch. Donnie and I stuck together like glue, and I'm sure Leo and Raph were giving us odd looks, but we didn't want to chance losing each other. We had pretty much been avoiding them, particularly Leo, because we really weren't sure how they'd react if they found out that Donnie was now _my_ Donnie now.

Remembering just how easily Leo might have slit Raph's throat, I decided it was better that they didn't know. I was just thinking that the rest of this trip would be a cinch, when something just _had_ to happen.

Both Donnie and I had wandered right into a patch of white, dusty, knee-high flowers. Leo and Raph were hollering at us from the edge of the field, several yard aways from us, to get out of there, but I couldn't hear them. My brain was starting to feel fuzzy as I inhaled the dust from the flowers.

Hadn't there been something about poppies in the movie? Something about them making you sleep? Donnie wasn't being affected, probably because he was a scarecrow and made of straw, and he was shaking me by the shoulders and hollering at me to _snap out of it_. Even Klunk was meowing at me from her place by Donnie's ankles. Apparently, she wasn't affected either.

I could only stare at them blankly as my vision went completely black and I slumped forward into Donnie's arms.

TMNT TMNT TMNT TMNT TMNT

_DONNIE'S POV_

I could only scream Mikey's name as I clutched him to my straw-filled chest, hollering at him to wake up. He didn't respond, and I could feel my desperation mounting. Klunk was meowing up a storm, pawing her owner's ankles, but he didn't even stir.

"HELP ME!" I screamed back at the two Oz beings who were supposed to be my brothers but who hadn't yet moved to help me. I tried to pick Mikey up so I could carry him out of there; I really did. But, I was made of straw, and straw-filled arms just aren't made to carry somebody as heavy as Mikey.

I barely registered it as Leo wrapped something around his nose and mouth before carefully wading through the thick patch of flowers towards me. Raph was motioning at us to hurry as Leo easily scooped Mikey into his arms. I scooped up Klunk and resisted the urge to cry, which was odd since I was made of straw and shouldn't even be _able_ to cry, as I hurried after Leo out of the deadly flower patch.

This could _not_ be happening! I had just gotten my brother back, albeit in a very strange way, and I couldn't lose him again! I just _couldn't_!

"WHAT'S WRONG WITH HIM?" I screamed at Leo once we were out of the patch. He said nothing to me as he and Raph began walking the length of the poppy field. "ANSWER ME!"

"He has inhaled the vapors of the Sleeping Poppies," Leo answered sadly, still cradling Mikey in his arms.

I inhaled sharply. That did _not_ sound good. "What is that supposed to _mean_?"

Leo sighed and he and Raph shared a look before Leo answered. "The Sleeping Poppy is said to make one sleep forever."

My eyes widened in shock and fear and I shook my head. "No, no, it can't be! Mikey's fine! H—he has to be! I won't LET him not be!" I was so angry I was starting to hyperventilate and my vision was beginning to blur from the tears that were threatening to fall again.

Leo and Raph said nothing as they continued traveling the length of the poppy field. "There is a way," Leo said softly. "My father," my head jerked up at that, "the Shinobi of Oz, he may be able to awaken him."

Raph snorted. "We hav' ta get there first."

I growled, squeezing Klunk a little too tightly in my arms, making her squeak in protest. "We'll find him." I snarled. "I'll _make_ him help if I have to." My fury dissipated as fast as it had come. "He _has _to." I choked out.

I could only watch the unconscious form of Mikey in Leo's arms as we continued our weary trek down the length of the poppy field.

How could things have gone so wrong already?

**AN: Ah, I do love cliffhangers. The guest reviewer also requested that something happen to Mikey. Hey, who doesn't like torturing the turtles? The story will be told in Donnie's POV until Mikey wakes up. Of course, that's assuming that he **_**will**_** wake up. Heh, aren't I evil? Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please do leave a review! P.S. If anybody is confused at this point, feel free to ask me for clarification in a review and I'll try to clarify it for you in my next author's note. I know this is kinda confusing. Heck, I'm having trouble keeping it all straight! This story may end up being longer than originally planned! So many plot twists! And now Donnie's trapped too! Hey, I love me my plot twists!**


	3. Donnie Tells His Story

**AN: Yay, I finally got this done! It took me three days, but this chapter is finished! First off, thank you to everyone who reviewed. They encourage me to continue this story and usually make me write faster. This chapter mainly took so long because I was working out the remainder of the plot. Yay! There's quite a bit of angst and some brotherly fluff, mostly Donnie/Leo, in the first part just because I love brotherly fluff! You finally get to see what was going on in the real world whilst Mikey was in Oz. Anyway, enjoy this chapter!**

**The TMNT of Oz**

I should probably start by saying that this place was seriously giving me the creeps. Three days ago, I had been working hard on a new invention in my lab and had just come out for a cup of coffee when I noticed my youngest brother dozing on the couch. The credits to _The Wizard of Oz_ were playing, so I had just assumed he had dozed off during the middle of it.

Oh, how wrong I was. It wasn't until an hour or so later that I would learn the ugly truth. Leo had barged into my lab, wild-eyed and frantic with worry, hollering at me that something was wrong with Mikey. Naturally, I leapt up in an instant, grabbed my medical bag on my way out, and followed Leo to where Mikey was still dozing on the couch with Raph leaning over him, desperately shaking him.

"We've tried everything!" Leo exclaimed breathlessly, taking my arm and dragging me the rest of the way. "He just won't wake up!"

"Mike, ya shell-fer-brains!" Raph exclaimed, slapping our brother across the cheek. "Wake up already! MIKEY!"

I motioned at Leo, and he immediately understood. He grabbed Raph around the waist and hauled him off Mikey, dragging him away and attempting to quiet his cries of protests as I hurried forward and knelt beside my brother.

"Lemme go, Leo!" Raph had cried, fighting against my eldest brother. I was thankful that Leo was so strong, because I knew I wouldn't be able to restrain Raph if I had been forced to.

"Raph," Leo had said quietly as I shakily opened my bag and pulled out my stethoscope. "Donnie's got this. You know that. He'll figure out what to do."

I scowled at that. Donnie to the rescue again! Donnie's smart! Donnie can do anything! Nothing's impossible for Donnie!

Coming from anyone else, I might have been able to tolerate it, but, from Leo, the most rational person I knew (not that I know a lot of people), it bothered me. He should _know_ better. Knowledge is power, but it isn't invincible. I do know a lot, but I'm not omniscient. I don't know everything, and I can't _do_ everything. Heck, Leo fits that description better than I do!

I was angry and I snapped, sharper than I had meant to. "This is very delicate work, so would you _please_ be quiet!"

I could feel Leo's eyes on the back of my neck as I continued my examination. Mikey's heartbeat was strong, his pulse was normal, and his breathing was fine. As far as I could tell, nothing was wrong with him. I was fighting back a growing panic. Mikey did have a tendency to sleep like a rock, but this was downright ridiculous.

I stood up robotically and turned to face my other two brothers. Leo had since released Raph, who stood stone still, staring at Mikey with a vacant expression. Leo was watching me, probably waiting for me to give my diagnosis and tell them that I had a miracle cure I could—

My sarcastic thoughts had ground to a halt as Leo stepped forward and pulled me to him. My body shuddered and I rested my forehead against Leo's shoulder, my shoulders shaking. "Where's sensei?" I asked after a few minutes when I had been able to regain control of myself.

I was expecting Leo to pull away, but he only held me tighter, pressing me to his plastron. "Don't you remember, Don? Sensei has been in the astral plane since yesterday. He went there to seek council from Master Yoshi."

"Oh," I murmured, my voice no doubt muffled against my brother. Neither of my brothers said anything as Leo continued to hold me.

"Ya can't tell what's wrong wit' 'im." It was a statement, not a question. I lifted my head from Leo's shoulder to stare blankly at Raph. "I couldn' find anythin' wrong wit' 'im eider. He jus' won' wake up."

I nodded, leaning forward to lay my head on Leo's shoulder. "His heart rate's fine. His pulse is normal, and his breathing's steady. I would suspect a coma, but he doesn't appear to have been through any physical trauma." I sighed. "It just doesn't make any sense." I shrugged, whining in pleasure when Leo nuzzled the top of my head with his beak.

"I was 'fraid of that," Raph muttered darkly. He strode forward and put out a hand to awkwardly pat my carapace. "I s'okay, Don. It ain't yer fault we can't do nuttin'." I was thankful that he'd avoided saying _you_.

Leo sighed, leaning down to lay his head on top of mine. "Perhaps sensei will be able to figure out what's wrong with him when he returns from the astral plane."

TMNT TMNT TMNT TMNT TMNT

Leo was indeed correct. Sensei did know what was wrong with Mike. That night, sensei emerged from his bedroom, a peaceful look on his face. He froze when he saw us. Raph was sitting on the couch, holding Mikey on his lap and looking about as lost as I'd ever seen him. Leo was sitting in the armchair, holding his head up by his propped arm, glancing up when sensei walked in. "_Konbanwa, _sensei." He said quietly, Raph and I mimicking him almost inaudibly.

I was sitting at Leo's feet, leaning against his legs with my head resting on his knee. I did sit up when I greeted my sensei, but immediately returned to my previous position. That day had been one of the longest of my life. I was a scientist. We scientists do not enjoy being in the dark. We like to know why things are the way they are. And I didn't know why Mikey wouldn't wake up. And that was killing me on the inside.

Sensei must have sensed our despair and quickly deduced that something was dreadfully wrong. "My sons," he spoke, hurrying over to us. "What has happened?" When he saw how tenderly Raph was holding Mikey, he must have realized what had happened. "What is wrong with Michelangelo?"

I made a small sound and climbed up onto Leo's lap without replying. I'm sure he was surprised, but he said nothing as I settled myself in his arms. Sensei watched me, his desperation growing. "Leonardo?"

Leo sighed and drew me tighter to his plastron. "We don't know, sensei. He just won't—wake up." I hid my face against Leo's plastron as I heard sensei turn, his cane tapping the floor as he no doubt walked over to where Raph sat with Mikey.

The silence stretched out a long time as my sensei searched within my youngest brother's mind. Nine hours. My little brother had been basically comatose for nine hours. It was enough to drive anyone over the edge.

Except, I had always been closest to Mikey. Don't get me wrong; I love Leo and Raph too. It's just that I've always had a special connection to Mikey. I guess because, back when sensei was deciding what our birth order would be, he had decided that Mikey and I were the youngest.

I guess that's why it was so hard for me. In fact, the only one who didn't _appear_ to be falling apart emotionally was Leo; but, both Raph and I knew that was just because he was being strong for us. Leo was probably just as torn up about it as we were, if not more. Knowing him, he had probably found some way to place the blame on himself and was currently beating himself up on the inside.

It wouldn't be the first time.

Sensei's eyes snapped open after several minutes of searching through Mikey's mind, and I was shocked at how unreadable they were. I sat up on Leo's lap and watched him. "Master Splinter?"

Sensei turned towards me, his whiskers twitching. "This is not good," he spoke quietly, probably hoping that we would not hear him.

Let me tell you; that did _not_ make me feel better. "Sensei?" Leo asked, tightening his hold on me.

Sensei sighed and stood from his kneeled position, moving to sit next to Raph on the couch. "Your brother's mind appears to have left his body."

The silence that stretched after that pronouncement was worse than any other I'd ever experienced. I sat dumbfounded, my hands visibly shaking as I twisted them together in my lap. Raph's gaze was vacant as he cradled Mikey in his arms. I couldn't see Leo's face, but I had felt him stiffen beneath me, and knew he was not pleased either.

Sensei sighed once more, his whiskers drooping. "Your brother's mind has not disappeared, my sons. It is just no longer in his body." He cocked his head and reached up to finger his whiskers. "Your brother may be trapped in a world between reality and fantasy. We may be his only chance at returning to us."

I slumped against Leo, my entire world spiraling downward at my sensei's words. I knew that by "we" he must mean "me." Unless sensei can make contact with him through meditation, the responsibility of finding and bringing back Mikey would fall to me.

It would be my fault if my little brother never came back to us.

I whined and pressed my face into Leo's neck, beginning to shake uncontrollably at the reality of it all. I didn't even know where to _start_! It wasn't as if Mikey had just been pulled into another dimension. By all means of science, his mind was just floating around between the real and the unreal, possibly never to return. How would I deal with the guilt when I knew I would inevitably fail to recover my little brother's lost consciousness?

Leo had clearly sensed my distress and wrapped me in his arms, beginning to rock me back and forth. He said nothing, but I could feel how worried he was. But, not about Mikey, about _me_.

What was wrong with me? My little brother was floating out in the middle of space somewhere, and I was having an emotional breakdown? I couldn't _afford_ this! I needed to be focused! I needed to be completely unbiased! I couldn't—

But yet, I didn't want to leave my eldest brother's comforting embrace. Even though the scientist in me was screaming to get off my butt and start searching for Mikey, the little brother in me didn't want to be alone. The little brother in me _wanted_ to be held.

After some time, I felt a furry hand on my head and lifted my face from Leo's neck to peer up at my sensei. Splinter was smiling down at me, his eyes looking as lost and grieved as I felt. "My son," he soothed, beginning to stroke my head as Leo continued to rock me. "Peace, my son. You are not alone. We will find your brother." He reached down to nuzzle the top of my head with his snout and I closed my eyes, soaking in the rare display of affection. "Together."

My eyes snapped open and I smiled for the first time in nine hours. "_Hai_, sensei." I sat for a minute more before slowly turning to gaze at Mikey.

I had been avoiding watching the lifeless body. As far as I was concerned, Mikey might as well be dead, he was so still. Raph locked gazes with me, his own burning with pent-up emotion while mine asked a silent question. After a moment of our intense staring contest, Raph nodded, stood up with Mikey's body, and carried him to my lab.

I glanced down at Leo as I stood up. He knew my question without my even having to ask it as he stood as well and took my arm, leading me to my lab. "We'll find him, Donnie." He said quietly. "You don't have to do it alone."

I felt my eyes brimming with unshed tears at his words. He wasn't expecting _me_ to find Mikey. My brothers and father were there for me. They would help me find my little brother.

And find him I would. Even if it was the last thing I would ever do.

TMNT TMNT TMNT TMNT TMNT

The next two days, Leo, Raph, Sensei, and I practically lived in my lab. Leo didn't train, Raph didn't go topside, and Sensei did not meditate. All of our efforts were focused on finding Mikey.

I was using April's Uncle Augie's dimensional transporter in the hopes that it might help me. I'm not exactly sure what I was expecting it to help me with _exactly_, but I thought it might give me some clues as to where Mikey was.

It was about halfway through day two when Raph found something disturbing. He had left to get a cup of coffee (the four of us had been living on it) when not even two minutes later he barreled back inside, cradling something small and furry. "HEY, GUYS!"

I had been sitting at a table fiddling with the artifact, Leo had been researching the internet for anything on in-between-worlds worlds, and Sensei had been watching over Mikey, but we all leapt up and ran to Raph when he barged in. I stopped short when I recognized the animal in Raph's arms. "Is that—?"

Raph nodded, holding out the unconscious cat for me to take. "Found 'er behind the chair. Scared the livin' daylights outta ma."

Sensei stepped forward and reached out to touch the cat. His eyes snapped open after a moment, shining with something akin to hope. "This cat may just be your brother's salvation."

The three of us turned as one to stare at our sensei. Leo was the first to speak. "Master Splinter?"

Sensei closed his eyes, fondling Klunk. "Yes. The cat's mind has bridged a gap between this world and the world where Michelangelo must be." We all drew in a sharp breath. "Donatello—?"

"On it, sensei!" I exclaimed, hurrying over to my computer. "Bring her over here! I may be able to trace her signal and pinpoint Mikey's exact location!"

I didn't even register who handed me the cat as I hooked her up to my computer and ran a full body scan. There it was. Don't ask me how, but my computer could pick up a thin wisp that connected the part of Klunk's mind that was here with us and the part that must be with Mikey. My fingers flew over the keyboard as I typed in some command codes.

By using Klunk as a bridge, I was able to get a glimpse into the world where Mikey must be. It was dark, and it looked like a forest. I could see two figures sitting by the light of the fire, and I thought one might be Mikey.

My brothers and father crowded around me as my mind attempted to think of how I could communicate with Mikey . . .

My thoughts trailed off as I caught a glimpse of the face of one of the figures in the firelight. It was me. As confused as I was, I saw the opportunity and I took it. Typing in a few command codes, I was able to use a computer virus to hack into my doppelganger, waiting for the body to fall into my control.

The world was almost virtual. With a click of a few keys, I could manipulate it, and this was no different. My hands shook with excitement as I felt my mind meld with my doppelganger's body.

I woke up to find Mikey staring at me and, even though I wanted to throw my arms around him and never let go, I had to tell him of the danger he was in.

Sensei had since expressed his worry that the longer the absence between Mikey's mind and his body lasted, the harder it would be for him to return. The news was grim, but I had suspected as much.

I wasn't happy when Mikey's voice started cracking. I didn't know why he was upset, but I didn't care as I held him in my arms. I can't even express how good it felt. I couldn't feel anything since I was only using my doppelganger as a gateway and wasn't actually in the world, but I could tell Mikey could.

I don't know how long we stayed like that, but I could feel my connection to this world starting to break. I immediately panicked, hollering last minute instructions at Mikey as my doppelganger weeded out my virus and sent me packing back into my own body.

I sat up with a start to find I was lying on a metal cot in the infirmary with both of my brothers leaning over me. Raph hollered over his shoulder that I was awake as I sat up, blinking in confusion. Suddenly, I was enveloped with strong arms as Leo drew me to him and crushed me in a bear hug. "Good grief, Don!" He wheezed. "You were out for three hours! We thought we'd lost you too!"

"Shouldn'ta let him do it," Raph muttered as he leaned over the cot to touch me, possibly to make sure that I was really there. "Shoulda gone mahself."

I took a shuddering breath and managed to squeak out. "Leo, can't—breath."

"Right, sorry," he apologized as he released me and I gulped in oxygen. Leo immediately went into what me, Raph, and Mikey liked to call "Mommy Leo" mode. Not that we'd ever say that to him. He'd use us as his personal punching bags. Not a nice thought. "Are you hurt? What happened? Where did you go? Did you see Mikey? Is he okay? Are _you_ okay? Why—?"

"Leonardo," the quiet voice of our sensei stopped my brother's tirade of questions in its tracks. "Your brother is very confused right now. He needs to rest."

"'m fine, sensei," I began to say when suddenly I was seized with a pounding headache, and I cried out in pain. I felt hands on me but could only heave in gasps of air as I heard somebody calling my name. My vision began to blacken and I swayed on the table.

I felt myself slipping through a void before strong arms caught me and scooped me up, the owner calling my name. I shook my head and groaned as I lost consciousness, feeling my mind slipping away from my body and into the darkness surrounding me.

When my eyes opened again, I was in the forest of Mikey's world once more with Mikey once again staring at me. "Mikey? Is that you?"

When I said that, his face broke into a grin and he tackled me with a hug, crying, "Donnie!"

And you know the rest of the story. Now, my little brother is once again lost to me, but, this time, there're no big brothers or father to help me rescue him. Only two beings who, as my doppelganger did with me, appear to be Leo and Raph, but who also didn't appear to care about what happens to Mikey.

I didn't like entrusting my brother, particularly _this_ brother, to either of them, but Mikey had fallen prey to what this Leo called the Sleeping Poppies, and he was unconscious.

Again.

Except, this time, it just might be permanent.

I whimpered as I trailed about ten yards behind the Leo and Raph of this world, Leo carrying Mikey in his arms. We had reached the end of the poppy field hours ago and had begun the hazardous climb over the rocky hillside that bordered it. This Leo had assured me that our destination was just on the other side, but I didn't particularly trust him.

Mikey had told me about this Leo and about how he had almost slit this Raph's throat without a moment's hesitation. He may _look_ like my eldest brother, but they were nothing alike. Although Leo was ruthless and fear-inspiring in battle, off the battlefield, my other two brothers and I saw a side of him that nobody else saw.

We saw the loving and caring brother side. We saw the side of him that made him more than our leader, even more than our eldest brother. He was our protector and our caregiver. Sensei might have been our father, dealing with the discipline and such, but Leo had always been the one who would calm our irrational fears, comfort us when we were sad or hurt, and just be there for us when we needed him.

I'm not sure this Leo was capable of such emotions. His countenance was hard and he had built up a solid wall that was impenetrable to all others around him. He was brusque and impatient. He'd yelled at me more than once for what he considered a slow pace.

And then there was this world's Raph. I didn't know quite what to make of him. He rarely spoke and, when he did, it was usually just one or two sentences. His walls were even thicker than Leo's, but his heart was not as hard.

Don't ask me how I know. I just do. Perhaps it's from years of practice of having to learn to read my Raph's moods and what he's really feeling. I could tell that this world's Raph buried a lot of emotion deep within himself, afraid to let it out.

Just like my Raph.

The only major difference was that my Raph would have been worried sick about Mikey, even if he wouldn't have shown it. Just as he had back in the real world where Mikey was first lost to us, he would have never left his side, acting as his shield and protector while our brother lay vulnerable.

If I didn't need them to help me bring back my brother, I would have ditched them a long time ago.

And you know what the worst part was?

They knew it too.

TMNT TMNT TMNT TMNT TMNT

I was having a much harder time climbing the sheer rock face than Leo and Raph, probably due to the fact that my straw-filled arms and hands just could not grip the hard surface that well. I was about five yards underneath them, panting and puffing from the exertion. Being a scarecrow, you'd think I wouldn't feel such physical strain as this, but I was surprised by just how sensitive and almost _human-like_ my body was.

Something told me that there was more to my doppelganger than first met the eye. "Hey, Scarecrow!" I jerked up at hearing that Brooklyn accent hollered down at me. Don't ask me why Raph had a Brooklyn accent when _clearly_ this wasn't New York. I'd decided to just accept it and move on.

"Ya doin' a'right down there?" Raph continued. He was grasping a particularly sharp rock with one hand, both of his booted feet braced against another as he turned around and called down to me.

"Just peachy!" I hollered back, annoyed at how breathy my voice was. Leo glanced over the shoulder that Mikey was not draped over, probably attempting to read my face for any insincerity. I'm not sure why he bothered; he was farther ahead of me than Raph and I doubted he could make out my features.

"You sound winded, Scarecrow," Leo commented, cocking his head in amusement. "Would you, perhaps, care for some assistance?"

I had to seriously think about that, casting a glance at the far too still Mikey. It scared me just how still he was. Although he was breathing and his heartbeat was there, although faint, he didn't twitch, moan, or groan as he would have if he were simply deeply asleep. It was as he had been whilst I had been in the real world.

Mikey needed help. _Now_. And I was holding them up. "That would be much appreciated!" I finally relented. I don't know how my doppelganger had managed as a scarecrow. It was a pain in the shell.

Raph descended at lightning speed, clearly practiced at climbing sheer rocky cliffsides, reaching me within minutes. Without a word, he wrapped one arm around my waist, lifting me effortlessly and draping me over his shoulder. I grunted in discomfort as he quickly ascended the cliffside once more until he was mere feet underneath Leo. "Ready, Tin Man?"

Leo growled in response, climbing even more adeptly than Raph, which was quite an accomplishment. Apparently, they were just as athletic in this world as in mine. Wonderful. At least they were on my side.

For the moment.

The climb went much faster without their having to stop every two minutes to wait for me to catch up, and we reached the peak of the rocky outcropping. They swung over without a word, descending the other side much more slowly than they had ascended the opposite side. I suppose descending was more dangerous than ascending. You couldn't see where you were going as clearly.

Nevertheless, they reached the bottom in record time, and Raph dumped me on the ground without a word. I grunted, annoyed that my straw-filled body could actually _feel_ the pain, but happy at the same time. It made me feel more _normal_, I guess.

Leo lifted and set Mikey down much more gently, crouching briefly to examine him for injuries. For a megalomaniac, he was surprisingly gentle with my brother.

Miracles do happen.

He sighed, running his hand down his face. "He is running out of time."

I jerked up at that. "What do you mean?" I immediately began to panic. What _did _ he mean by that? There was a time limit? What happened when Mikey ran _out_ of time? Did I even _want_ to know?"

Leo glanced back at me, an unreadable expression on his face. "His condition is steadily worsening." My breath hitched at that. "We must not tarry."

I struggled to my feet, barely registering it when Leo suddenly tensed in my peripheral vision. Raph looked at him in confusion for a moment before he tensed as well and rested his hand against the hilt of his short sword. I watched both of them in bewilderment before I sensed it to0.

Something was approaching. Fast.

The moment I perceived this, the sky was filled with dark shapes that descended rapidly. I blinked when I could make them out well enough to be able to identify them.

Wonderful. Flying monkeys. Weren't they the bad guys in _The Wizard of Oz_? Didn't they work for somebody or something?

"The Witch has sent them," Leo breathed almost inaudibly without even turning to look at me and Raph. "Do either of you have anything of value?"

Raph shook his head as I cautiously felt my pockets before shaking my head as well. Unless this Witch person considered straw valuable, I was broke.

"We must flee," Leo continued, slowly reaching down and gathering Mikey into his arms. "At my signal, Lion's Mane, you grab Scarecrow and we make a run for the bridge. Once we are across, they will be unable to pass through the force field to continue their pursuit."

Raph nodded wordlessly, reaching down to grasp my waist. I glanced from one to the other, watching the monkeys' steady descent in our direction. I didn't know what they wanted, but I sure wasn't going to stick around to find out.

"Now!" Leo hissed, scooping up Mikey and tossing him over his shoulder in one fluid movement before leaping to his feet and sprinting toward a faint object in the distance that must be the bridge.

In the next moment, I was flying through the air, my breath leaving me as I hit Raph's shoulder stomach first. Soon, we were dashing after Leo, although much more slowly. What a great time to figure out Raph isn't the best runner.

I glanced up and realized that the monkeys were almost on top of us now. I squeaked when a dozen or more suddenly descended on us, their weight driving Raph to the ground.

The next few moments were a blur. I heard metal against leather as Raph drew his sword and frantically tried to fend off the human-sized monkeys. I felt claws ripping through my fabric covering, plunging into the straw beneath. I screamed in pain as they began to tear me apart.

It felt like hours, but was probably only a few seconds, before I heard the swish of two more swords and the monkeys ceased their assault, taking off in a different direction, their hooting and jabbering loud enough to shake the earth. I coughed, my body shaking as I felt hands on me.

"HELP SCARECROW!" I heard Leo holler at Raph. "I WILL PROTECT MICHELANGELO!" And then he was off.

That's when I began to panic. He had left Mikey to help us? WAS HE INSANE?! He was helpless!

I couldn't speak for the pain I was in as I felt Raph beginning to stuff the straw back inside of me. I groaned when I felt him wrapping a thick cloth around my middle to cover up the large tear in my stomach and keep my straw innards from just falling back out.

Several minutes later, I became aware enough to realize Raph was holding me in his arms as Leo was slowly walking back towards us. He was badly scratched and a trickle of blood ran the length of his body. He had a nasty cut running from the top of his head and down the length of his neck, disappearing where his armor began. It was still intact, proving it was quite durable. His hands shook as he fell on his knees before us. "I failed," he choked out. "There were too many. I-I- couldn't-h-hold them o-off."

My blood chilled as I realized what his words meant. "NO!" I screamed in agony, fighting against Raph, who promptly set me down. "HE'S NOT GONE!" I continued, all rational thought fleeing with my helpless brother. "You're lying!" I could feel the salty tears running down my cheeks. I might have been confused if I hadn't been so distraught.

Leo watched me for a moment before crawling towards me, his arms visibly shaking from the exertion. "You are not Scarecrow, are you?" His eyes penetrated mine as he slowly nodded. "He has done what is forbidden."

"Wha'?" Raph asked, bending down so that he was at our level.

Leo looked at him pointedly. "He drew Donatello from the real world," his jaw tightened, his eyes suddenly hard. "He has sealed his own fate."

"What are you talking about?!" I cried, my eyes too blurry for me to even be able to make out Leo's shape before me.

"There is nothing we can do for Michelangelo," Leo continued as if I had not spoken. "We must continue to my father."

"What?" I asked, shocked by what he had just said. "We can't just leave him! WE HAVE TO HELP HIM!"

Leo shook his head at me. "Your brother has been taken to the Witch. All who enter her domain do not return. His fate has been sealed as well."

I could only stare at Leo. The real Leo would have stopped at nothing to get Mikey back, regardless of the danger. This _thing_ in front of me was not my brother. He was an imposter who cared nothing for me or my brother.

I began to cry bitterly, knowing I was far too weak to rescue Mikey on my own. If only my _real_ brothers were here. They would know what to do. Leo _always_ knew what to do, and Raph would stop at nothing to get our little brother back as well.

I _needed_ them.

"Perhaps I can help," a voice behind me said.

I whirled around, stumbling backwards in shock at seeing just who the speaker was.

It was me.

The _other_ me.

"But first," he continued, "I must explain something to you."

"What?" I asked, in too much shock to do much else.

"I must tell you of the true nature of Oz," he frowned. "And just really the amount of danger you and your brother are in."

His frown deepened. "I must tell you who, and what, I really am."

I watched him for a moment before slowly nodding. "I'm listening."

**AN: Yay, another cliffhanger! Hm, I hate cliffhangers, but can't resist writing them. Thanks to all who read and don't forget to leave a review! This story's probably about halfway done, but I've said that before. I already have the next chapter pretty much planned out, I just need to write it first. Also, for anybody who's wondering, **_**konbanwa**_** means "good evening" and **_**hai**_** is an affirmation that you have heard what the speaker said (it can mean either "yes" or "no"; yay, Google!) in Japanese. P.S. Anybody out there who is also reading my other story, **_**The Birth Order Effect**_**, I have no idea when I will next update. I've kinda hit a road block in the story. Not exactly writer's block, but frustrating still the same.**


	4. The Secrets of Oz

**AN: Unless I suddenly come up with an unexpected plot twist that lengthens this story, there should only be a few chapters left, four tops, I'd say. This story has been a pleasure to write, particularly because I love writing in first person. The secrets of Oz will finally be revealed and I hope all questions answered! I can't remember if anybody reviewed last chapter, so, if somebody did, thanks! Before I forget, I do not own the characters of the show TMNT or **_**The Wizard of Oz**_**. However, I **_**do**_** own this very complicated and intricate plot! Anyway, enjoy this chapter!**

**The Secrets of Oz**

Let me tell you something. I've had some pretty bad concussions before. I've been so battered and bruised that _breathing_ hurt. I've been unconscious for days on end in a coma. (Apparently, running into a brick wall is _not_ the equivalent of running into Raph. Learned that the hard way.) In other words, I've been in some serious pain before, but . . .

At that moment, I was sincerely wishing that I were dead! _That's_ how painful it was. My head felt like it had been chopped off and screwed back on cock-eyed, weighing more than a pound of lead. My hands and feet were numb and I probably would have upchucked if I'd had anything in my stomach.

"I see that you are awake." My blood froze at that voice. What was _she_ doing in our lair . . . ?

Oh, right. I wasn't at the lair. I was trapped in Oz with—

Donnie! Holy crap, he must be worried sick! Where the heck was I?! What happened?! And why the *&%* was Karai here?

Opening my eyelids was the equivalent of running a marathon, but I managed it. I _was_ the Battle Nexus Champion after all.

My favorite psychopath in the whole dang world was standing in front of me, dressed in this weird robe that looked like it had been purposely torn and washed in mud. She had this wild look in her eyes as she stared at me, gripping the neck of a long vase-like thing with one hand. "Goody!"

You've probably realized that this world was just downright _wrong_. But, _this_ was too much. Karai never had and never will say '_Goody_' and jump up and down, clapping her hands like a maniac.

Then again, I _had_ always thought she was a bit off her rocker. "Ka—rah?" I mumbled, unable to pronounce the bitch's name properly due to my drunken state of mind.

Karai blinked at me before giggling, placing the vase-like thing on a round table behind her. And I'd thought it was wrong when _Angel_ had giggled. There's not even a word in my vocabulary I could use to describe my horror when _Karai _performed that highly girly vocalization. "My name's not Karah, silly!" This way too perky version of Karai announced, dancing over and bopping me on the head. "It's the Wicked Witch of the West!"

Why hadn't I seen that one coming? "Uhhh!" Was all I could manage before I slumped over.

"Oh, sorry!" Karai giggled again. "Let me help you!" I managed to pry my eyelids open enough where I saw her roll a fireball in her bare hands, splitting it into two before hurling them at the wall where my wrists were bound, suspending me in the air.

I hit the floor with a _thud_, and I groaned louder. My body suddenly began floating in the air as Karai levitated me over to a feather bed against the opposite wall of what I assumed must be her lair. "I do apologize for the whole kidnapping you thing!" Karai giggled. "Because, you know, my 'role'," she did air quotes at that, "is supposed to be the bad girl and I'm suppose' ta like, kidnap you and all. You feelin' me, man?" I would have run right then if my limbs had been functioning properly. "Anyway, I mean, I'm _always_ the bad girl. And, let me tell you, getting melted gets _really_ old! I mean, I'm a nice person! I totally don't deserve to be melted! Don'cha think?"

"Head hurts," I managed to grunt, clamping my eyes shut and hoping that this was just a really weird, life-scarring dream.

"Oh, sorry!" Geez, didn't she have an _off_ switch?! Huh. I can just imagine what Raph would say if he were to hear me say that.

The pain in my head and the heaviness in my limbs suddenly faded and I sat up with a start. Karai was leafing through a fat book, grinning at me over the top. "All better?"

"Uh, yeah," this was going to take some serious getting used to. "Thank you. Uh, Wicked Witch of the West."

"Oh, just call me W.W.W!" Karai giggled, clapping the book shut and coughing when a cloud of dust billowed up from the pages.

"Uh," I stared at her as she dropped the book on the same table as the vase-like thing and struggled to clear her lungs. "Can I just call you 'Karai'?"

Once she had recovered her voice, she glanced up at me and shrugged. "Sure, Green Dude, whatever gets your goat. Hey, are you hungry?!" She giggled and hurried over to another table, this one a long rectangle, beside the round table where she had set the vase-like thing. "I made cookies!"

Okay, I am _officially_ scarred for life. "'M good," I muttered back, watching her out of the corner of my eye as I studied the room I was in for the first time. "Is this your _bedroom_?" The room was entirely made out of stone, suggesting I was probably inside of a castle, with bright red, purple, and green tapestries decorating the wall. The large feather bed I was sitting on rested against the middle of one wall with a large armoire and the round table being across from them. I'd always imagined that Karai's room would be bare and _dark_ and, well, creepy! Not _this_. This was just—

"Ya like it?" Karai interrupted my quickly escalating thoughts, leaning forward and severely invading my personal space. "I decorated it myself! Castles can be so _drafty_!" She dipped her hands at me before sighing and reaching up to mess with her braid, which was just as messy as her witch's robe. "You have no idea how dang _lonely_ it gets around here!" She whined, shaking her braid up and down quite erratically. "I mean, flying ninja monkeys aren't exactly the best company, ya know what I mean?"

"Uh," I seriously didn't _care_ about her psychological issues. I just wanted to get the heck out of here and find my brother before he had an aneurysm looking for me! "I wanna leave!"

Karai stared at me for a moment, her face so serious that I thought for sure I had just crossed a line. Then, she burst into raucous peals of uncontrollable laughter. I could only stare at her wide-eyed for several minutes that began to stretch into hours in my mind before she finally stopped and straightened, staring seriously at me. "Yeah, I would let you. Really, I would." She started messing with her braid again, and I found my eyes drawn to it as she continued. "But, ya see, we have these _rules_ here in Oz. And, well, I have a _role_ to play, ya know? You see, I'm supposed to be seeking revenge and out for your blood and all for killing my father. But, seriously, the dude was so uptight! I'm kinda glad you dropped your softy squishy thing on him! I mean, it's not like he's really dead, right? I swear that guy's unkillable. I mean, seriously, I tried poisoning him once, but, he, like, didn't even get nauseous! He has guts of steel! But I never thought of dropping something on his head!"

I was beginning to get a headache from her high-pitched, whiny school girl voice. "Anyway," now she was _chewing_ on her braid, her words blurring together as she continued, "I'mma get 'n _real_ touble if'n I eden thin' a doin' tha'! An' ya wouldn' wanna tha,' woul' ya?"

It's a good thing I was used to deciphering Brooklyn accents from Raph and Casey, or else I doubted I would have been able to translate. "So, what're you sayin'?"

She dropped the braid from her mouth and sighed exasperatingly. "I'm _saying_ that I hav'ta kill you! Is that such a difficult concept to grasp?!"

Now _that_ was more the Karai I knew.

Now if only I could think of how to get out of here before she had a chance to fulfill her "role" or whatever.

Man, I hope Donnie's better off than I am.

TMNT TMNT TMNT TMNT TMNT

_Donnie's POV_

Fate is a funny thing. I had always heard Master Splinter, and even Leo, go on and on about Fate and our Destinies and how our "paths had been chosen beforehand" and how "everything happened for a reason." It wasn't that I'd completely ruled out Fate, but I was a scientist. We scientists enjoy concrete facts, tangible evidence. The whole concept of Fate was a foreign concept in my mind. The astral plane was a fairytale that I only "believed in" because my sensei had encouraged me to "allow it to free my body and soul."

The scientist in me was currently drowning in all of the improbabilities and just flat-out _weirdness_ that was this world of Oz as I stared at the Other Me. He was of average height and was dressed in a long, flowing purple wizard's robe that was decorated with questions marks and numbers. Atop his head was a pointed wizard's hat that probably looked similar to the hat I was wearing atop my own head.

If it weren't for the height and attire differences, we would have been the same person. It was both fascinating and unnerving at the same time. He was me and yet he _wasn't_ me. Although the scientist in me was currently having a nervous breakdown, the ninja in me, the part of me that had learned to cope with all the supernatural influences in my brothers' and my world, was drinking it all in and treating this as a simple learning exercise.

"Please," the Other Me began, his voice soft, uncertain. He looked like a deer caught in headlights. Curious but terrified. He was regarding me with almost as much suspicion as I was regarding him. It made me feel both intrigued and disturbed that he was thinking the same as I was. "Allow me to introduce myself."

I might have interrupted, but I was still in too much shock. The ninja in me was fighting to regain control over the scientist in me so that I could come up with a decent reply. "My name is Araskius." Wait, what? The Other Me, I mean Araskius, sucked in a breath before releasing it and continuing, his eyes locking on me. "And I am an Ozzian."

Was that supposed to help me? He regarded me with some interest before continuing. "I see that this information does not help you, correct?" I nodded numbly. "Let me further explain." He took a deep breath once more before continuing in a slightly shaky voice. "Oz is a world between worlds, as your sensei suspected. It is neither real nor unreal. It is neither fact nor fiction. We are here yet we are not. It is a plane of existence."

"What do you mean?" I had finally found my voice, the ninja in me having won the battle.

Araskius smiled in relief. "It is a little hard to explain to one who lives in the physical world. Reality has many different layers, and only one is physical." I opened my mouth, but he interrupted. "No, I am not referring to other dimensions. By layers, I am referring to different planes of existence. Different ways of _experiencing_ and _seeing_ the physical world. To me, Oz is home. But, to you, Oz is simply a state of mind. You are here only in mind and soul whilst your body is back in the physical world."

"Are you—real then?" I asked in awe.

He smiled somewhat sadly. "I am not a copy of you, if that is what you mean. I tried to explain it to your brother, but I do not believe he quite grasped my meaning," he sighed, his eyes traveling to the heavens before they returned to rest on me. "I am real, but I have no physical form. I could not exist in your world. I only exist here. However, mine are a people who are real but lack," he paused at this, "a sense of self, so to speak. We have distinct personalities, emotions, intellects. But, yet, we do not feel whole, complete. We lack the last part of the trinity that is required for humanity."

"What is that?" I breathed.

He smiled at me. "We possess a soul and spirit, but we lack a body. We are incomplete. In order to gain humanity and a sense of self, our world must be connected to the physical world."

As those words sank in, I realized what he was saying. "Mikey was not pulled in by accident."

Araskius nodded sadly. "It is an extremely rare occurrence, but a physical being from your world can reach a crossroads that connects our two worlds. When that occurs, we draw and their soul and spirit are drawn into our world whilst their body, the only part that cannot exist in this world, remains."

I blinked. "Is that why I could manipulate your world from ours?"

Araskius nodded. "Our world is simply a different plane of existence of your world. In theory, as you have discovered, one could use digital technology in able to 'hack' into our world and control it via that portal. However, you did require a link to our world," he frowned. "How did you manage that?"

I chuckled nervously as I rubbed the back of my neck. "My brother's cat was acting as a bridge between our two worlds."

He nodded. "Of course, the same thing occurred with Dorothy." I blinked at that. Wait, a girl named Dorothy really had come to Oz? "It seems that since animals lack a spirit, a part of the trinity required to give one his humanity, they can pass between our worlds."

I nodded seriously. "It wasn't the ruby red slippers that brought her home, was it?"

Araskius shook his head. "No, it was indeed Toto. The details of the story were somewhat skewed to make for a better movie, I would presume. Regardless, my people do not view your brother as a guest."

I frowned. "They see him as a prisoner."

Araskius nodded. "As long as your brother remains in this world, we have a sense of self. You see, Oz can sense your thoughts, memories, and emotions. We took the people in his life, both friend and foe, and imprinted ourselves with a negative of their personalities, giving us their appearances and some of their personality traits while we gain a sense of self but keep our original personalities."

I frowned. "So, you look like me, but that's only because you were imprinted with a negative of my personality?"

Araskius shook his head once more. "No. I was imprinted with a negative of how your brother _viewed_ you."

My eyes widened. "LEO!" Araskius stared at me for so long, that I felt the need to explain my outburst. "My brother. He is nothing like the Leo in this world," he nodded, encouraging me to go on. "You see, a few years ago, he went through a state of depression where he was really dark, moody, and angry all the time. _That_ must be the view of Leo that your Leo was imprinted with."

"His name is Elana," Araskius smiled. "And he is a she."

I blinked before chuckling subconsciously. _He_ was a male, right? "You mix genders?"

Araskius shrugged. "Sexual orientation means nothing to our people. We do have sexes, but we see no reason not to meld our minds with that of the opposite sex. It is merely a mind meld, after all, and not a body mold. Now, _that_, would be wrong."

My smile melted into a frown as I recalled what Araskius had said to me before. "What did you mean when you said you could help me with getting my brothers here?"

Araskius's face was split into a wide grin as he motioned me over. "You see, I am the Time Master of this world. I can control when it 'pauses' as you say and when it starts again. As long as it is paused, I can pull your brothers' subconsciouses through into our world using them," he jerked his thumb at where the Leo and Raph of this world stood frozen. "As I am, they will still be around. They will just no longer be filling these particular avatars."

"Tell me," I said, staring up at him in confusion. "Why are you a scarecrow one minute and then a sorcerer the next?"

Araskius threw back his head and laughed. "My dear Donatello!" His chuckles dwindled as he smiled kindly down at me. "This is my true form," he indicated himself. "I did not intend to 'pause' our world back when I first did, and Elana, Coranthi, and I had to come up with a reason for my sudden transformation. You see, I manifest in my true form whenever I exert my power as Time Master. The entire bit about your character being a sorcerer turned scarecrow was a lie. Your character is a traitor to the Shinobi of Oz whom he cast into the body of a scarecrow as punishment." I stared at him. "Let me just say, the Shinobi of Oz, 'played' by our actual leader, King Ikara, has more to him than there appears to be at first. He is the one who instigated the practice of pulling any physical being from your world into ours if he were unfortunate enough to reach a crossroads."

"The Shinobi of Oz is evil?"

Araskius thought for a minute. "I am unsure. As far as I know, the avatar is not meant to be evil, but King Ikara is not known for his benevolent nature. He feels not for your kind and will keep you prisoner here as well if your presence here becomes known."

I nodded. "Right. Stay low-key." I smiled. "I can do that." Araskius raised his brow ridges at me. "I'm a ninja, remember?" I suddenly thought of something. "Wait, if you manifest in your true form when you play Time Master, why do you still look like me?"

Araskius stared at me before glancing down at himself. Then he smiled. "Only in your mind's eye do I resemble you. You must remember that I have no real physical form. I kept your basic form for you could not perceive my true form. Our true forms are not physical. They are too much for a physical being such as yourself to behold."

"Right," I muttered. "Just checking."

Araskius watched me for a moment, something almost akin to concern in his eyes, before he quietly said. "I may need your assistance."

I can't really tell you how I looked at him, but I guess he felt the need to elaborate on his point. I interrupted him before he could further his explanation. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but, in case you hadn't noticed, I am no Ozzian, let alone the frickin' Time Master. _How_ exactly am I going to 'assist' you?" I know my reply was vehement and extremely uncalled for, but I was a little beyond caring at that point. Knowing that my brother had been taken away whilst I was incapable of assisting _him_, I found his request almost insulting.

Araskius must have been very perceptive, for he apparently caught on to the motive behind my crude remark. "I beg your pardon, Donatello. Please allow me to explain." He waited for my approval, and, after a long moment where I deliberated with myself, I finally nodded. He smiled wearily before furthering his explanation. "You see, because I was imprinted with a negative of your brother's view of your personality, I had no trouble connecting with you and drawing you into this world. Your brothers on the other side, however, are an entirely different story."

I couldn't help being curious. As odd and downright unscientific as Oz was, I found myself fascinated with the concept of this "world between worlds" and its intriguing inhabitants. "Do you mean you will be unable to connect with them?"

Araskius paused before replying. Perhaps he had sensed that I was a scientist at heart and was formulating a worthy reply. "It is not the connecting that will hold the difficulty." He cast his gaze toward the Leo and Raph—excuse me, I mean Elana and Coranthi in the _guise_ of my older brothers—and I immediately understood. Well, partly, anyway. This whole thing was a little beyond my area of expertise, but I was taking it in stride. For Mikey's sake.

"Because of your imprinted version of my personality, you were able to draw me here with no difficulty," I supplied. "But, you do not have that advantage with Leo and Raph."

Araskius nodded and sighed heavily. "Even from here, when I move to touch the minds of your brothers, I can feel their worry and anguish. They are worried for Michelangelo, but they are also worried for you. They both are warriors and have wills of steel. It may be nearly impossible to bring them here, since they will no doubt resist."

I had to ponder this for a moment. I had no clue how Araskius was able to connect with my brothers from this odd world, but I had to remind myself that Oz was just a different plane of existence of my reality. So, in theory, that was entirely probable. He had said that Mikey had been at the crossroads of our planes when he had been pulled in. Perhaps my other brothers were near enough to this crossroad so that Araskius could sense them? "Araskius?" I began to ask hesitantly, but trailed off. I was so afraid that my suggestion would be impossible, but I had to try. "Would there be any way for me to communicate with them?"

Araskius was quiet for so long, that I was certain he found the question downright foolish. Then he did an odd thing. "Come with me," he spoke quietly, holding out his hand. I took it without hesitation and allowed him to lead me to where Elana in the guise of Leo as the Tin Man still lay on her side and Coranthi in the guise of Raph as Lion's Mane, an outlaw, kneeling beside her.

And to think I just thought that without even being weirded out. This place would be the death of my sanity; I could already feel it slipping, ebbing away as the oddity that was Oz chipped away at everything I had thought I had known.

My depressing thoughts were cut off when Araskius gently pushed me down to my knees beside my "brothers." I stared at him in confusion, asking a silent question to which I wasn't even entirely sure I wanted the answer. He grasped my wrist and slowly lowered my hand until it was resting on Elana's head. "She has a connection to your brother, Leonardo," Araskius murmured to me as I quivered with expectation. "Use her as a gateway to your brother's mind. Focus on him and tell him not to fight as I use her to draw him here."

I could only nod, still trembling, as Araskius closed his eyes and began to concentrate. I could feel that he was slipping into a deep state of something resembling meditation, and I forced myself to do the same. My eyes closed of their own accord and I focused all of my attention on the hand that still rested on Elana's head. Then I imagined that there was an actual bridge, or cord, more likely, that connected her to my brother.

A picture began to materialize in my mind, and the image before me was confusing. I was looking down at myself, still lying on the metal table. By the looks of things, not much time had passed since I had passed into this world. I would have realized what a tremendous relief that was if I hadn't realized with a start that I was seeing my home through Leo's eyes.

To say the least, it was somewhat unnerving at discovering I was literally inside my oldest brother's head. However, I had to quickly push aside that feeling and focus on communicating the need not to fight to Leo.

That's when I felt Araskius's presence descend on my brother, willing him into Oz. Immediately, Leo's knees buckled and he hissed. The lab blurred and spun before his eyes and I had to gasp and remind myself I wasn't actually experiencing this. I could feel the mental barriers that my brother was putting up, resisting, quite effectively, my friend's attempt at drawing him to us.

I knew then that I had to do something. I was in my brother's head, but I still was completely clueless as to how I should go about communicating with him. Should I just think my words, send them to him telepathically, or speak verbally?

I decided to simply press, trying to make my presence known. I think it must have worked for Leo paused in his fierce resistance. That's when I thanked Fate for Leo's perception for all things spiritual. _Donnie?_ The thought came through clearly to my own mind, and I knew Leo had sensed me.

_Don't fight it, Leo_, I called back. _Trust me. Don't fight._

There was a pause. _Are you all right?_

Figured. Even in light of the sheer magnitude of what was happening, my brother was concerned for me. I was slightly annoyed, but also relieved. It felt good to have my eldest brother being all "motherly" to me again.

_Motherly?_

Whoops! Forgot for a moment there that our minds were temporarily linked together. _Uh, can we just pretend I didn't think that and move on? _Then I decided to play the card that always worked where Leo was concerned. _I need you, bro_.

There was a long pause before I felt, rather than heard, my brother's affirmation. Suddenly, the infirmary blurred and I felt as if I were being yanked backwards at an incredible speed. I gasped and my eyes snapped open. I had to blink several times before I could comprehend where I was.

Back in Oz. My hand was still resting on Elana's head where I was still kneeling beside Araskius, whose eyes were still tightly shut. I watched as a tremor went through Leo-Elana's body and its eyes blinked open.

Those eyes stared up at me, the oh so familiar eyes of my oldest brother, before an even more familiar voice asked. "Donnie?"

I couldn't hide my grin as I threw myself on my brother. He grunted as my impromptu hug flattened him on his shell, but I noticed he, even begrudgingly, returned the embrace. I was almost on the verge of tears and hurried to press my face into Leo's shoulder in order to hide it. Thankfully, he was wearing a shoulder plate and could not feel the tears. Regardless, being Leo, he just _knew_ that I was crying.

I honestly have no idea how long we sat there. I had been so terrified and the fact that the _real_ Leo was here with me had made me far more emotional than anticipated. At some point, Leo lifted my nearly weightless body (I was a scarecrow, after all) onto his lap and cradled me in his arms. "Shhh, Donnie." He murmured. "It's all right. I have no clue what's going on and even less clue where I am, but I'm here." He paused and looked around him for a moment. "Wherever _here_ is."

That was what finally brought me out of my crying fit. I sat up on my brother's lap and wiped at my eyes before taking three deep breaths. Once I felt I was composed enough, I stated simply. "Leo, welcome to Oz."

Leo stared at me for a long moment, seeming to be actually _seeing_ me for the first time. "Donnie, why are you a _scarecrow_?" Then he glanced down at himself and frowned. "And why am I wearing armor? I look ridiculous!"

I couldn't help but giggle at that as I scrambled to my feet. "Before I go any further into details, I need to help Araskius pull Raph here."

Leo seemed to notice the clearly uncomfortable Araskius for the first time. "_He _brought me here?"

Araskius cleared his throat. "More or less."

Leo watched him for another moment with that Look that made my other two brothers and I cringe for our enemies. That penetrating stare made you feel as if Leo could see into your very soul, which, I recalled, Araskius did indeed have. It was a body that he was missing. Then he glanced down at the frozen "Raphael" at his feet for another long moment. "And you want to pull Raphael into this _Oz_ place as well?" Araskius nodded wordlessly. For a terrible moment, I was afraid Leo was going to forbid it, when he suddenly nodded and stepped away. "Just remember this, Araskius," the clearly nervous man glanced at my brother with uncertainty. "If any harm comes to my brother while you are 'drawing' him here, as you say, I will take it upon myself to rectify the situation."

I'm not entirely sure Araskius understood his exact meaning, but the threat was evident. Araskius visibly gulped before gesturing at me to place my hand on Coranthi's head.

Melding with Raph's mind was a little more, er, eventful, than merging with Leo's. For one thing, whereas Leo's mind had been relatively clear and focused on one thing, Raphael's was full of emotion: namely, rage. It took me a moment, but I realized that he was bending over the limp body of my oldest brother. That's when it struck me. Perhaps we should have brought _Raph_ through first. No telling how angry my second oldest brother could get at having all _three_ of his brothers so rudely taken from him.

There was no time to lose. _RAPH!_ I was elated when Raph immediately jerked up, clearly looking for the source of the voice. He cast his gaze to where my body still lay prone on the table before shaking his head in disbelief and returning his attention to Leo. That's when I realized he was performing CPR.

I hadn't even known Raph _knew_ CPR. _RAPH, LISTEN TO ME_! I wasn't exactly sure why I was shouting, but I was desperate to get his attention. Once again, Raph's head jerked up, but he must have realized just _whom_ the voice belonged to.

"Donnie?" It was odd hearing the voice coming from the mouth of the body I was occupying. It was the same as when I spoke. Yet, this wasn't my body, and now I was seriously weirded out. "That you?"

_Yes and no, Raph_. Now, how to explain this completely unbelievable occurrence to my hotheaded brother without setting him off and making him act true to his nickname? _It's me, but I'm not actually there._ I paused. Should I tell him the next part? _I'm in your head_.

That made Raph pause. "Great," I heard him mutter. "Now I'mma goin' crazy. Stupid auditory hallucinations," I might have been shocked that Raph knew that term if he hadn't wheezed in pain and collapsed to the floor in a heap at that moment.

_Don't fight it!_ I cried mentally, willing that Raph, for once, would listen to reason. _Just give in! When you wake up, Leo and I will be right here!_

I could feel my brother's resolve failing. All three of his brothers were comatose and his master was deep in meditation in an attempt to contact Donatello's spirit. He felt as if he had nothing to lose.

This time, I was prepared for the abrupt feeling of returning to my scarecrow body as I scrambled to my feet and took a step back. Not a second later, Raph's eyes blinked open and he stared up at us. His gaze was unfocused for a moment before he seemed to comprehend who was standing before him. "Donnie?" He turned his head. "Leo?" He turned his head once more and started, although it was a slow jerk since he was still groggy. "Who the *&^% are you?"

"Language, Raphael," Leo quipped. And, just like that, Raph's grogginess was gone and he was on his feet, staring at us. Before he could do or say anything stupid, I threw myself at him much as I had Leo.

Raph caught me up in surprise and I found that my straw-filled feet actually came a good foot or so off the ground. I wrapped my arms around and buried my face in Raph's neck before sobbing out the whole story. I'm sure neither of my brothers had a clue what I was saying, but it made me feel better.

After I had finished bawling my eyes out once more and Raph had replaced my feet on the ground, both of my brothers stood before me, watching Araskius warily out of the corners of their eyes. "Donnie?" Leo was the first to speak. "I couldn't understand much, but I distinctly heard 'Mikey'." His face hardened and he partially knelt down so he was more at my level. "Did something happen?"

I could only smile, my imaginary tear ducts apparently having run dry for now. "Bros, have I got a story for you." I laughed bitterly.

Leo and Raph shared a concerned look before Leo tentatively reached out and took me by the arms. His grip was strong and, being a scarecrow, I was incredibly fragile, and he must have realized that because he immediately loosened his grip. "Where is Mikey?"

My face immediately fell, and I discovered that my imaginary tear ducts were nowhere near dried up. "I don't know." I breathed out, clenching my eyes shut to try to stem the tears before they could pour down my cheeks.

I felt myself being drawn into an embrace and lifted clear off the ground. I barely acknowledged who had picked me up before pressing my face to a metal-plated shoulder and dry sobbing. I felt a rough hand on my shell, and knew that my other brother was there as well. For once, I was actually glad to be a scarecrow. My small, weightless body made it easy for my brothers to hold me. As childish as it was, I wanted nothing more than to be cradled at the moment.

"He's gone," I finally managed to choke out, wrapping my arms around Leo's neck and pressing my face so tightly to his metal-plated shoulder that it hurt. "They took him."

Even though my words were muffled at best and unintelligible at worst, they must have understood, for I could sense my brothers turning as one to face Araskius. "Explain." I heard Leo order harshly.

I heard Araskius draw in a shaky breath before he said. "I am afraid that your brother has been taken to the Witch." My brothers must have looked blank, for he continued. "As in, the Wicked Witch of the West."

"Yer kiddin', right?" Raph demanded.

"Welcome to Oz," I muttered. "Join the party."

**AN: And, no, that last part was not an "unexpected plot twist"! That was completely preplanned! Hm, not much of a party though. Unless you consider Mikey getting kidnapped by flying ninja monkeys a fun time. Not sure he would agree, but that's completely okay if you do! I can't say when my next update will be. These chapters are long and I have to work on wrapping up this story. It should be within the next week or so, depending on when I get the inspiration for the next chapter. Anyway, you all know how encouraging and "inspiring" reviews can be! Constructive criticism is always welcome. I just want to know what you think of this so far! Anyway, Zairihannah out! Hehe, I always wanted to say that. Thanks for reading!**


	5. The Amber City

**AN: UGH, this took me forever to write! If this keeps up, I AM GOING TO LOSE MY PATIENCE WITH THIS STORY! In other news, thanks to those who reviewed! I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter, but I wanted to just finish it so I can move on with my life, so I hope it's up to par with my other chapters. FYI, I decided to write sections in Leo's and Raph's POV's as well, although I can't say if this will be a regular occurrence. Anyway, I'm sick to death of this chapter, so, I hope you enjoy reading it more than I did writing it!**

**Disclaimer: I'm too tired to come up with something even remotely witty. I do not own TMNT or **_**The Wizard of Oz**_**. This is only for entertainment purposes and I make no profit off of it blah, blah blah.**

**The Amber City**

_Mikey's POV_

Perhaps I should do another recap before moving on with the story? Well, first off, I never planned on coming to Oz. Heck, before all of this happened, I didn't even know it _existed_. Anyway, guess you can see where that got me, huh? As you may have guessed, I'm in Oz. Hurray! Yeah, you'd think. You see, this place is even more whacked out than in the movie. Apparently, it was based on a true story where this chick named Dorothy along with her puppy, Toto, gets pulled into this weird world between worlds where she goes on a crazy adventure.

Yeah, Dorothy ain't got _nothing_ on what I've been through. First and foremost, my _couch_ landed on the _Shredder_, the Wicked Wizard of the East. If that wasn't odd enough, I was first greeted by Angel, the Good Witch of the North, and her group of Purplekins, who were mini-versions of the Purple Dragons even creepier than their larger counterparts. Then Angel sends me down a red brick road called the "Trail of Bushido" to find the "Shinobi of Oz." Trackin' with me so far? Yeah, didn't think so.

You remember the three characters that Dorothy ran into while on the way to see the Wizard? Yeah, coincidentally, I have three brothers, so you can guess how that went. Donnie was the first one I met up with, and, let me tell you something. Seeing your brother as a straw-filled scarecrow is something I would never wish on anybody. Plus, he was also totally different from _my_ Donnie, who, by the way, is now in here with me too.

But, I'm getting ahead of myself. Next I met up with was Leo, who is this sort of vigilante guy who calls himself the Tin Man because he has these weird patches of armor all over him, I guess. He's also sort of the prince of this world, although that's assuming that the Shinobi is, like, the king or something.

Next was Raph, the cowardly lion, right? Yeah, you'd think. No, the hothead was supposed to be an outlaw named Lion's Mane who, like, terrorized the people of Oz or something. Oh, and Leo tried to kill him when we first met him. Yeah, I had to get all psychological with him and remind him of the Way of Bushido and how he wasn't a killer and all.

But that wasn't until after the story "paused" and I became even more hopelessly confused. You see, Donnie went from being a pathetic, wimpy, straw-filled scarecrow to being a cold sorcerer who was sometimes referred to as the Scarecrow since he liked to masquerade as one. (What? Why are you looking at me like that? You see, this is why I don't have a larger vocabulary! It's because of people like you who judge me!) Uh, moving on! Yeah, then this world, like, "unpaused" and everything was back the way it was and that's when I went all Sigmund Freud and managed to keep Leo from slitting Raph's throat. Yay me!

Would you believe that things only got weirder from then on out? First, _my_ Donnie, like, hijacks his Oz doppelganger (oh, get a life, people!) and uses him as a window to communicate with me. Fun, right? It would have been if it hadn't been for his message about Master Splinter thinking that my mind might be permanently severed from my body if I didn't return in the next twenty-four hours of my world.

Talk about pressure, right? Anyway, seeing Donnie again just reminded me of how much I missed him, and it was really hard when he was yanked back to our world. Then a miracle happened! The Oz Donnie said that he could bring my brother here! I was so happy, I coulda kissed him!

I didn't though. Don't worry. That woulda been weird. Anyway, the Oz Donnie did, and that's how Donnie's here now! Then everything had to go wrong all at once! Just that next day, I ended up being drugged or something by flowers and woke up in the Wicked Witch of the West's castle!

Not the best awakening, I'll tell you that much. You see, the Karai, a.k.a, the Wicked Witch of the West, of this world is super chatty, _extremely_ annoying, and says the word "like" way too much! I mean, like, I had about had it!

WHAT IS IT WITH YOU PEOPLE AND YOUR LOOKS?! I HAVE MY RIGHTS, YOU KNOW!

Uh, right, moving on again. Sorry about that outburst. I, like, am just really at my wits' end right now. Guess what? Karai says she has to kill me! Isn't that grand?! Offed by my worst enemy who's more annoying than Leo on a sugar high. (Yeah, you don't wanna know. I'm scarred for life, I tell you! _Scarred_!)

So, that's pretty much where I'm at right now. And, don't think I had forgotten what Donnie had told me (that's _my_ Donnie, of course) about my only having twenty-four hours until _poof_! No more Mikey in my world! My body will just be an empty shell while I'll be trapped in this nightmare forever!

AND I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHERE KLUNK IS! MY POOR BABY! I SWEAR, IF KARAI'S HURT HER, I WILL SKIN THAT BITCH ALIVE AND CUT OFF HER—!

"Meow!" I froze and lifted my head from my sorry excuse for a pillow, sitting up on my metal cot. I'm in the dungeon, in case you hadn't figured that out yet.

"Meow!" That time, I managed to locate the owner of the voice.

"Klunky!" I cried in relief, leaping off the bed and scooping up my kitten. "You poor baby! Don't do that to Daddy! You had him scared silly!" I cuddled my kitten under my chin, reveling in her warmth. "Are you okay, baby? Did that mean lady hurt you?"

My kitten meowed again and began purring as she rubbed her furry head under my chin. I giggled when her whiskers tickled me and tucked her into the crook of my neck. "Don't _scare_ me like that!"

Then my kitten meowed and squirmed, trying to pull away from me. Confused, I plopped back down on the metal cot and set her in my lap. My kitten sat without a word and blinked up at me, her emerald green eyes huge with an unvoiced question. (And, yes, I realize that it would have been really _creepy_ if she actually had voiced it. DON'T JUDGE ME!)

Uh, moving on? Yeah, anyway, Klunk was staring up at me and I just _knew_ what she wanted. You can stand there and lecture me all you want about how cats are just animals and are incapable of conveying _anything_ of that magnitude, but I know my cat! She knew the predicament I was in, _and_ she knew just how to fix it!

I watched my kitten with sad eyes before scooping her up once more and cuddling her again in my arms. "Be careful, Klunky. Daddy doesn't want anything to happen to you."

Klunk meowed again as if to say "Yes, Daddy!" before she squirmed and I had to force myself to set her back on the ground. We stared into each other's eyes for a long moment before I nodded and Klunk meowed once more.

After rubbing against my leg and flicking her tail in a farewell, Klunk had squeezed out between the bars and taken off down the dark corridors in the bowels of Karai's castle.

And now I was hoping by some miracle that my poor, defenseless kitten could find Donnie and the Leo and Raph of this world and lead them to where I was.

I wasn't exactly in high spirits at that point.

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_Leo's POV_

Oz was a beautiful place. Having lived my entire life in New York City with only rare visits to Casey's grandma's farmhouse, I had never spent that much time in such a clean environment—the time that I had spent in Usagi's world after the Ultimate Drako sent my brothers and I to separate locations being the exception. Something about this place was alluring and I found myself enjoying it despite myself.

I could tell that Raph and Don didn't feel the same. Raph kept growling at everything, and I think I even heard him cursing at a rock at one point. Don had been too busy worrying about Mikey to say much to either of us.

I still didn't quite understand how we had gotten here. One minute I had been frantically performing CPR on my younger brother, and then the next I was in this strange place called Oz. Don had explained that I was fulfilling a "role" or something and that my "avatar" was that of a vigilante named the Tin Man. The idea that I could have anything in common with Casey was not appealing, but I suppose it could have been worse.

I could have been Don, who was—a scarecrow. When I had first realized that, that was what he was, I had thought my mind was playing tricks on me. Perhaps I had been captured whilst out on patrol and this hallucination was the result of chemicals and/or poisonous gas.

I still wasn't entirely convinced that all of this was actually happening. That Araskius guy, who had looked like a taller version of Don for some reason, had disappeared hours ago. He had given us specific instructions to continue on until we reached the Amber City where the Shinobi of Oz supposedly lived.

I was beginning to regret refusing to watch _The Wizard of Oz_ with my brothers when we were younger. We had been out scavenging and Mikey had found the video fairly undamaged still inside the case at the junkyard. He had been bouncing off the walls, begging for us to hurry so he could watch it, until we had returned to our lair. Don had managed to fix up an old black and white television set and a rusted-over video player , both that we had also found in the junkyard, and he did not delay in snatching the movie from Mikey's greasy hands and shoving it in. At that point, we had all been ready to throw him down a dark pit, never to let him out.

It hadn't taken long for the faint sounds of the movie to attract Raph, who had pretended as if he didn't care. Soon the two had been intently watching the screen, a bowl of slightly out-of-date popcorn between them, munching periodically without taking their eyes from the screen. Don had joined them about halfway through the movie, telling me that it was for research.

I hope he never realizes what a terrible liar he is. He may be a genius who can put a virtual reality transporter together from scratch, but he can't tell a lie to save his life. In fact, Raph's a terrible liar too, mostly because he just doesn't put much thought into it. Although, now that I think about it, Raph usually just tells me what he's going to do and dares me with that look of his to try and stop him.

I just had a scary thought. Mikey's the only one in the family who can lie like there's no tomorrow. Of course, he's the only one that can lie _period_. Must have something to do with being the baby of the family.

"Yo, Leo!" My completely out of context thoughts were interrupted by two thick green fingers snapping in my face and a very red-faced turtle severely invading my bubble. Did you know that turtles can actually get red-faced? All of our blood rushes to the surface of our skin and gives us a hot pink tint.

I suppose you're probably wondering how I know that. My brothers would probably be shocked if they could take a peek inside my mind and see how un-Fearless Leader-like my thoughts are. They seem to forget that I'm seventeen just as they are and _am_ allowed to have random, completely unrelated thoughts and—

Oh, wait, I was telling you something, wasn't I? Right, how I knew that. Well, I know a lot of stuff actually. I've always had a _really_ good memory and, one day back when we were eleven after I found that I could recall a book I had read eight times nearly word for word (when you only have three books, you reread them a lot), I decided that something must be wrong with me. Raph couldn't even remember how old we were half the time, Mikey _never_ remembered to clean his room, and Don's so scatter-brained, you wouldn't believe it.

So that night I sneaked out after I was sure everybody else was asleep and logged onto the pile of random parts that Don calls a computer, searching for anything having to do with remembering really well. And that was when I realized something.

I had an eidetic memory, which is just a fancy way of saying that I can pretty much remember anything, particularly anything that I have seen, heard, or read. My brothers are always wondering how I can perfect the katas that Splinter teaches us so quickly, and that is why. I could watch my sensei perform the moves once, and was able to copy them almost perfectly the first time.

So, how do I know that bit about our skin turning red from the blood rushing too close to the surface? Well, for one, it really isn't rocket science, and I probably could have come up with that _without_ Don lecturing us for nearly a half hour after Mikey was making fun of him for having a pink face.

Yes, having a perfect memory is a blessing and a curse.

But, I'm getting off topic again, aren't I? "Dude, I think he's meditatin'." I was jerked from my thoughts at the voice that sounded suspiciously like my oldest younger brother.

"While standing up?" Another voice asked, sounding incredulous.

"Well, he hasn't said a word for the past hour, and I don't think I've seen him blink either."

"He's probably blinking while you're blinking."

"Every single time?"

"It could happen!"

"I'm not meditating, guys," I sighed. All right, time to flip the switch. While I am the typical teenage "boy" with an eidetic memory and a random thought process on the inside, I am now the Fearless Leader on the outside.

"He's alive!" Raph cried dramatically, reaching out to thump me on the shoulder. Then he shook his hand. "Remind me not to do that again." He grumbled to an amused Don.

I reached up and touched my shoulder, which was covered with a shoulder plate. It wasn't that I hadn't noticed it was there (it was kinda hard _not_ to notice that your body was covered with random patches of metal), but I just hadn't paid it much mind. Now, I ran my finger along it and realized just how tough it was. It must have hurt slapping that, because I hadn't felt a thing.

"We must be getting close," I heard Don mutter. His brow was twitching and I was beginning to suspect that he was slowly losing his mind. I read once in some random magazine article, like, seven years ago, that if one's body is put under enough stress, their mind can begin to deteriorate, and twitching is supposed to be one of the symptoms.

I was mentally listing the rest of the symptoms in my head when I was once again interrupted, this time by Raph's exclaiming. "The Emerald City!"

"Amber City," Don corrected. "The Emerald City is from the movie."

"Whateva! It's our stop, ain't it?"

"Well, yes, but—"

"But nothing! Who cares what the heck it's called as long as we get there?!"

"Guys!" I hissed as quietly as I could, running a list through my mind on what kind of rodent that had been that had just run over my foot before remembering that my younger brothers were staring at me. I cursed myself for standing there staring at my foot for more than two seconds before I raised my head and adopted the look Raph had mockingly labeled the "Leader" look. I call it my shut-up-or-I-am-going-to-beat-you-black-and-blue look, but I think my brothers would think I had been replaced by aliens if I were to ever voice that.

Well, Mikey would anyway. I wonder if that's actually possible? I mean, we had experienced stranger things before. My best friend was a giant samurai rabbit and my worst enemy was a slimy slug.

"Fighting isn't going to get Mikey back, now is it?" My mouth was on autopilot, entering Lecture mode, as my random thoughts continued. Something about a lecture on photosynthesis that Don had given me when we were six after I had been staring at the green grass around us for too long.

That made them shut up real fast, and I was congratulating myself on a job well done when my senses suddenly went on high alert. Don't ask me how my mind can be racing a million miles a minute while my senses are still pricked for anything out of the ordinary. _I_ don't even know. Years of training, I guess.

"Something wrong, Leo?" Don asked breathlessly, backing up to stand between me and Raph. He'd been walking about ten feet ahead of us for most of that afternoon, and I guess he was beginning to feel insecure.

"I sensed something," I muttered back, my eyes scanning the region for whatever had disturbed my delicate senses.

My brothers were silent for a whole ten seconds before Raph decided that he just _had_ to say something. "There ain't nothin' there."

I allowed myself an annoyed sigh, but resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Of course, we can't _actually_ roll our eyes. Don once told me that our eyeballs do not roll around loose in our eye sockets, and the "roll" is just an illusion and that they're not actually "rolling."

I'm getting off topic again, aren't I? "Raphael, a ninja must be always in tune with his environment. A ninja who is _not_ is subject to being ambushed. Unlike you two, I have been keeping watch, and I just sensed someone standing not ten yards behind us."

Raph made a big show of looking where I had indicated and rolled his eyes. "I repeat. There ain't nothin' nor nobody there."

"A ninja opens his eyes to his environment," I continued, hoping that if I were to go off on a "ninjitsu rant" as he calls it, then he would tune me out and pretend he couldn't hear me. "_If_ one is in tune, then his environment will speak to him. Right now, my environment is speaking to me, and it is telling me that _something_ is standing ten yards behind us to the northeast."

I had just realized that Don was clinging to my arm, his eyes darting every which way as he searched for whatever had disturbed my senses. Don was a little out of his element here in Oz. He was used to being surrounded by advanced machinery that only he understood, but, here, _he_ was the ignorant one. Plus, I suppose it didn't help that he was a four and three-quarters foot tall scarecrow with a lopsided pointed hat on his head.

I'm not sure why, but I had the sudden urge to grab Don under the arms and swing him up into my arms, jerking my head at Raph to follow me. "It hasn't moved. Which means that it _won't_ move until we do."

Raph nodded curtly, glancing once over his shoulder before trekking after me. "Any particular reason you're carrying the twerp?" He grumbled, jerking his head at Don, who had since hidden his face in my neck.

I shrugged. I didn't ignore those feelings when they overcame me. I just acted on them, on instinct. My brothers did not understand it, but that was part of becoming a true ninja, learning to respond to your environment on reflex without having to debate within your own mind for hours.

Unfortunately, that doesn't make the not-having-a-clue-why-I'm-doing-this part any less irritating.

TMNT TMNT TMNT TMNT TMNT

The Amber City was orange. And, when I say orange, I mean ORANGE. Absolutely everything! The thick stone walls surrounding the city were made out of orange-tinted limestone with little orange stones wedged into niches and cracks running along the surface. The raised portcullis was made of orange-tinted metal and even the _moat_ was filled with an orange liquid that I didn't even want to know what it was. The guards standing on either side of the wooden, orange-tinted drawbridge were dressed very similarly to British palace guards (you know, the ones with those really tall fuzzy hats who never smile or speak?), but in orange of course.

After a long drawn-out argument, I had finally given up and set a disgruntled Don on his feet. It unnerved me that the top of his hat only reached the top of my plastron because that made it pretty much impossible to look him in the eye without crouching down, an action that he took offense to. "Well," he muttered, stopping just in front of me. "This place _is_ based off of Mikey's mind."

"And he does love orange," Raph agreed, standing on one leg beside me, his arms folded over his plastron and a brooding look overtaking his features. Although Raph was definitely taller than Don, his head only came up to my shoulder, and I didn't know if that was because he was short or I was tall. Either way, I guess it was still in my favor, so I didn't dwell much on that.

"Be on your guard, guys," I muttered. I'm not really sure why; it just felt like the right thing to say. We were entering a strange city that had been born from our youngest brother's mind, in search of a being who could supposedly help us find said youngest brother. That, and we have this nasty habit of getting ourselves into trouble without even trying.

"Will do, Fearless Leader," Raph muttered sarcastically. "Wha' would we do without ya?"

"For one thing," I couldn't resist saying, "you'd probably be dead, Don would be a recluse, and Mikey would be dead too."

"Why would Mikey be dead?" Don interjected, probably to further annoy Raph because I caught a wicked grin on his face.

Raph scowled as I replied. "Because Raph would have killed _him_ before getting himself killed. Oh, and Master Splinter would probably have lost his mind and reverted back to his animal ways."

"Leo, ya feelin' okay?" Raph asked skeptically after a long drawn-out silence.

I glanced at him and shrugged. Something about this place was making me voice more of my random thoughts than I usually do. Scratch that. I never voice _any_ of my random thoughts. Maybe it was something in the air?

I decided to ignore his question and approached the guard, bowing as I would to an elder ninja, and made a quick request in Japanese. I have no idea why I thought the guard would understand Japanese. Remember when I said I don't ignore those feelings when I get them? Yeah, that's why.

The guard regarded me for a moment before nodding once and giving his affirmation in Japanese as well. I stepped back and wasn't even surprised to find my brothers staring at me in confusion. Don's brow ridge was still twitching, and Raph's looked like it was dangerously close.

"What?" I asked, shrugging my arms before turning to cross the bridge. "Are you two coming?"

I didn't turn around, but I could picture them sharing a look before hurrying after me, a following pounding of footsteps accompanied by a soft padding affirming this. At least with Don being a scarecrow, it was a lot easier to tell his and Raph's footsteps apart.

"Now what, Fearless Leader?" Raph muttered once we were inside the gate and out of earshot of the two guards. "Got a plan?"

"Raphael," I muttered back calmly. "How could I have a plan when I haven't even had a chance to assess the situation?"

"We find the Shinobi of Oz," Don interrupted, wriggling in between us with that determined look on his face. "And we ask him for a cure for Mikey and where the witch's castle is so we can rescue him."

"Remind me again," Raph grunted. "What happened to the numbskull?"

"Poppy field," Don supplied with a grimace. "The pollen is actually a dangerous sleeping powder. It can make you fall asleep long enough where you will eventually die from dehydration, making it look like you will sleep for eternity."

"In other words," I butted in when Raph didn't look satisfied, "we have no time to lose, so we had better find this Shinobi of Oz quickly before our brother becomes the Sleeping Numbskull." After several moments, I still felt their eyes on me and glanced up to meet their stunned gazes. "What?"

"Did you just—make a joke?" Raph stuttered.

"A really _bad_ joke?" Don added.

I could feel the blood rush to my face, and I knew my cheeks were now tinted pink. "What, I'm not allowed to make jokes?"

"Not that," Raph interrupted Don's reply. "You just _don't_."

"Well," I shrugged, wondering why on earth my mouth suddenly had a mind of its own, "there's a first time for everything."

"My dear green ones!" We all jumped and swung around as I chided myself for being so inattentive. "Welcome to the Amber City!" The man was tall, dressed in an orange tux (what else?) with a dark, curly mustache, and he beamed down at Raph and Don but had to peer up at me. "How may I be of service?"

"We need to see the Shinobi of Oz," I fiercely went back into Fearless Leader mode, still wondering what was wrong with this place.

The man blinked before smiling broadly. "Right this way!"

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_Raph's POV_

I hate orange. It's just a stupid color, like a burned yellow or something. That, and it is _not_ a color that I would make an entire city. Everywhere I looked, there was more and more orange. It was like this place had a disease. Was there such a thing as Orange Pox?

I also hate chatty guys with curly mustaches that make me wanna give him a hair cut with my sai. Except, I don't have my sai. Apparently, my "aviator" doesn't carry one. Don just told me that it's my "avatar." Geez, how does he do that? It's bad enough that Leo can read me like an open book. I don't need the Brainiac starting in on it too.

Speaking of the Fearless Leader, something's up with him. I can feel it. The guy's been acting almost halfway _normal_ since we got here, and Fearless don't do normal. He's got fake romance movie hero written all over him. I swear, he don't know what the word "failure" means.

But, back onto more interesting subjects. I hate swords. They're heavy and cumbersome and are just dang annoying. For some reason, my "avatar" (whatever, Brainiac) carries a short sword, and the thing's so dang annoying. I ain't used to long range weapons. My sai are close range, just like I like 'em. I get to get real close to my opponent and scare him silly before I run him through.

A'right, ya can't technically "run someone through" with a sai. They're too short. But I can still dream! Can give them a nasty cut though, deep enough to scar, and that's good enough for me.

But, now I'm stuck with a stupid short sword and I can just feel the thing every time I take a step, bumping against my leg. Leo got lucky. He's still got two of 'em katana, strapped to his back in metal sheaths that appear to actually be welded to his shell. Geez, how come his avatar gets to have all of that cool armor and mine just has this scratchy lion's skin that's giving me a shower of sweat every few minutes?

'Course, I can't complain too much. 'Ole Don's a frickin' scarecrow, after all. Still can't figure out how he's able to walk, talk, cry, breathe, etc., etc. I asked the Brainiac, but he looked just as confused as me. Then 'ole know-it-all Leo had to butt in with his theory that magic is probably capable of a lot of things here and blah, blah, blah.

Anyway, back to our predicament. So this guy in an orange suit with that annoying curly mustache is leading us through the streets of the Emerald City (geez, Donnie, get a life! Who frickin' cares what color this place is?!), giving us a running commentary. I suppose it wouldn'a done any good to inform him that I hadn't signed on for the tour, because the guy was really into it.

"And here we have the best bakery in town! Are you sure you wouldn't care for a bagel before—?"

"We came to see the Shinobi of Oz, sir," Leo interrupted. As annoying as 'ole Fearless can be, I'm glad he's holding his ground and not letting this weirdo finagle us into buying some cheap pastry item that tastes like cardboard. I could tell we all had one mission on our minds.

Find this Shinobi of Oz and demand that he tell us where the hell our little brother was. And if he don't cooperate, well, I've always liked to think I'm a fast learner. A little tussle with him should be a good workout for me.

Once more, I saw Leo freeze and I wondered if he really had sensed something earlier in that field. 'Ole Fearless is usually right when it comes to his "feelings" and this place was pretty messed up. Who knew what kinda things lurked out there?

"Leo?" Don asked breathlessly, squeaking in surprise when our big brother decided to scoop him up again out of the blue. Leo dared me to say anything as he smothered Don with his hand, chancing a look over his shoulder before he adjusted Don and hurried after our "tour guide."

"Why do ya keep doin' that?" I murmured to him after I thought we were out of the earshot of whatever that "thing" was that was following us. Don was now pouting with his arms folded, a sour look on his face. I suppose he was getting sick of being grabbed and lifted with no warning.

"I honestly don't know," Leo mumbled back. "Something just told me to."

"You and yer feelings," I muttered, but couldn't help feeling uneasy. What the hell was following us and why the hell did Leo grabbing Don and carrying him make it go away?

"I have legs, you know," Don grumbled.

"I know that, Donatello," Leo murmured back. "I don't know how, but I think that whoever, or _whatever_, is following us is somehow tracking us through your footsteps or something. Now that I'm carrying you, the presence has disappeared."

"Wonderful," our little brother grumbled again, his voice being even darker and more disgruntled this time. "If I'd wanted a free ride, I woulda called a taxi."

"Yer awfully sardonic today," I quipped, falling into step beside my elder, and currently taller, brother.

"I've had a bad day," Don snapped back. "I think I'm allowed to be a little sardonic once in awhile."

"Quiet, you two!" Leo hissed through his teeth. "I think we're almost there!"

"Finally!" I grumbled. "Ma feet are killin' me!"

"Try not to attack the Shinobi, Raph."

How did he _do_ that?! "Whateva," was all I mumbled in reply.

Our "tour guide" grasped the handle of the heavy (what else?) bronze (bronze is orange-ish, okay?!) doors before twirling his arm with a flourish and yanking it open. "Enter and you may conference with the Shinobi. I suggest you hold your tongues and mind your manners!"

I was the first through the door, ignoring the sour look that the curly mustache weirdo sent my way. I ground to a halt when I saw who was seated behind the low table in the middle of the room, jasmine-scented candles surrounding him and a very familiar teapot in his hands.

I could barely speak, but I managed. "Master Splintah?"

**AN: And now the torture ends! I'm going to get carpal tunnel typing all of these long chapters up! Anyway, I want to address anybody right now who thinks Leo was way OOC. I've seen people write him as far older than he is, and, yes, I realize that he can be that way but he is a TEENAGER and teenage boys are not known for being normal! (No offense to any teenage males who are reading this; I have nothing against boys! They're more fun to write than girls.) So, I decided to give his section some personality. That, and I really wasn't sure how to write him as one "normally" would. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it and **_**please**_** review! I need to know if this chapter was any good or if it just plain sucked. Hey, I'm willing to rewrite it if it did. I want to just finish this story because I have an idea for another story I want to start, but this is taking me forever! So, I wouldn't expect an update very soon. It depends on how determined I am to finish this. Anyway, thanks for reading!**


	6. The Return of Furball

**AN: This story is slow going, but it is nearing the end. I think . . . . I really don't know; it doesn't seem like a whole lot happens in these chapters. Oh well. Anyway, thank you to my reviewers and readers. It's good to know people are liking this story of mine. This chapter is told from Leo's and Raph's POV's again, just because. Enjoy the chapter! P.S. I had to edit the last two lines in the previous chapter because I forgot to follow-up with them. Eh, sorry! It's fixed now.**

**The Return of Furball**

_Leo's POV_

My sharp hearing picked up on my brother's words and my eyes widened. I'm not sure why, but, for a moment, I thought that _our_ Master Splinter had somehow managed to find his way into this strange world as well.

I really should have known better. With Don still in my arms, I dashed through the doorway, ignoring the shout of protest our guide called after me, but skidded to a halt once I was through.

Raph stood directly in front of me. And, in front of him? Was Master Splinter. But not _our_ Master Splinter. I could tell _that_ the minute I laid my eyes on him. He was seated, on a large blood red plush pillow, behind a small table that looked to be made of oak. It only rose a foot above the ground, giving our "master" plenty of room to slip his legs beneath it. On the table was an assortment of rolled scrolls, an inkwell, and a tray of pastries.

The room was lit by the glow of hundreds of candles, all positioned wherever there was a space. Decorating the walls were enormous tapestries the length of a semi, beautiful Japanese sketchings, and, at the far end of the room, an enormous mirror with a lit brazier set in front of it.

Master Splinter, I mean—the Shinobi of Oz—was muttering to himself, peering at a scroll held in one hand while the other rubbed his beard. He hadn't glanced up at our abrupt entrance. He just waved his free hand at us, as you would a servant, before returning to rubbing his beard.

I set Don down, taking his hand and dragging him towards Raph. My other brother didn't even glance at me, but I knew he had sensed my presence. After a moment in which our sensei _still_ hadn't acknowledge us, he spoke breathily. "It's him."

"No, it's not," I murmured back, reaching up to grip his shoulder. "He's just a character in this movie that only took on the form of our master because it was Mikey who was sucked in here." I blew out in annoyance when Raph tried to knock my hand off his shoulder. I tightened my grip and just managed to suppress a growl. "He's not Father, Raphael."

Finally, my brother looked at me. I couldn't read the emotion in his eyes, but I could tell he still hadn't entirely accepted that. We were all worried for our sensei. First, he had lost Mikey to this place, then Don, and, not ten minutes later, me and Raph. I couldn't imagine the turmoil he was experiencing right now.

Okay, I could, but you get my point. Besides, as my brothers are always telling me, I'm a "worrywart." That's to be expected, right? But, sensei's our father. And it doesn't take a genius to know that a parent does not handle the loss of his children well.

Which just gave us even more incentive to get back home as soon as possible. Right after we find the Wicked Witch of the West's castle and rescue our little brother, who's supposed to be Dorothy or something.

And now I can't believe I just said that with a straight face.

Since this "Shinobi" person _still_ had yet to acknowledge our existence besides that vague hand wave, I decided to take action. I marched forward and sat myself down right across from him. "Excuse me, sir?"

That got his attention. "It is very impudent of you to be so straightforward, young one," he spoke softly, reminding me so much of my beloved father that it hurt.

But, I had to remind myself that this being in front of me was _not_ Splinter, just an Ozzian in my father's shell. Not an easy task. "We are in need of your assistance, Shinobi." I finally spoke, deciding to ignore his earlier statement.

_Finally_, he looked up at me, but he didn't look happy. Hey, it's not my concern if he's irritated. My only concern at the moment was finding my little brother and beating the shell out of the Wicked Witch of the West.

What, I'm not allowed to be hotheaded and irrational? Ah, you're right. We've already got one hothead in the group. Besides, anger tends to make me sloppy, and I make petty mistakes.

And I can_not_ afford any mistakes right now.

"Why else would you be here?" He replied, his voice much colder than my father's had ever been. "Do not tell me what I already know, _child_. Why are you here?"

"It's our brother!" Don's tinny voice broke in as he suddenly appeared by my side. He sat down beside me, but his head just barely surpassed my shoulder. "He was exposed to the pollen of the Sleeping Poppy and then he was kidnapped by the Wicked Witch of the West's minions!"

Leave it to Don to make everything more complicated than it needed to be. He could have just said "He was drugged by flowers and kidnapped by flying ninja monkeys!" Oh, great, now I sound like _Mikey_!

At the thought of my youngest brother, my heart clenched and I had to draw in a shaky breath to keep myself from trembling. I hardened my eyes and glared at the Shinobi with as much loathing as I could muster. He had looked beyond confused at Don's statement, but, at my glare, he blinked up at me, either unfazed by it or simply speechless.

After a long two minutes, I was beginning to think it was the latter just as he finally spoke. "I sense a fire in you, young one. You are greatly concerned for your 'brother', no?"

I wanted to scream "What do you think?!" but I managed to swallow that down and simply say. "_Hai_, Shinobi."

He appeared startled. "How do you know the language of Oz? I was under the impression that you were not from here."

I stared at him, my mind racing a mile a minute. Mikey's fluency in it must have influenced this world to make it think its primary language was Japanese. Huh. Convenient. Things don't normally go this well for us. Why did I get the feeling that turtle luck was going to work true to form and something terrible was going to happen?

The Shinobi's eyes suddenly darkened as he studied us more closely. "Wait a moment! You are not Elana!"

"Uh—" Wait, what?

"GUARDS!" Oh, shell!

He was cut off mid-cry, frozen in the action. The three of us stared dumbly at him before we sensed a presence behind us.

"You three are going to be the death of me someday." I swung around and was met by a welcome sight.

Araskius stood behind us in all of his Time Master glory. Never mind the fact that he was scowling at us! I really ought to thank him for all of his help thus far. If it weren't for him, Mikey would still be alone in this world.

That thought made me sick to my stomach.

"Took you long enough!" Don retorted from beside me.

Araskius sighed and rolled his eyes. "I keep telling the council that Ikara's mind is going. Your character, Leonardo, is supposed to be his _son_, and he appears to have completely forgotten that."

Raph blinked and then punched me in the arm. "Ya idiot! How could'ja hav' fergotten that?!"

"Well, _excuuuse_ me!" I snorted in reply. "I didn't realize I was supposed to keep tabs on what my 'avatar' is supposed to be."

"Yer the one that's always sayin' we has ta hav' a plan! How's not knowing what yer own #&^# avatar's suppose' ta be 'havin' a plan'?!"

"I don't know! I just forgot!"

"Well, ya ain't suppose' ta ferget!"

"You know, it wouldn't kill you to take some of the load once in awhile! I'll bet _you_ don't even remember what your avatar's name is supposed to be!"

Raph opened his mouth, looking all ready to throw another insult my way, when he paused, going silent. "Uh . . ." he looked imploringly at Don, who rolled his eyes.

"I knew it!" I smirked triumphantly. "You're such a hypocrite!"

"Okay, ENOUGH!" The two of us were startled at Araskius's LOUD interruption, his green face red and his eyes shining with irritation. "CAN THE TWO OF YOU NOT BE SILENT SO THAT I CAN _THINK_?!"

"Leo started it—" Raph began.

"I DO NOT WISH TO HEAR EXCUSES!" Araskius bellowed again before he sucked in a breath and breathed out, instantly calming. "I am sorry for yelling, my friends, but you seem to be forgetting the seriousness of this situation. Your brother is—"

"MROW!" Suddenly, an orange blur blew through the room and pounced into my lap, hissing and spitting up at a startled Araskius, its hackles raised threateningly.

"KLUNK!" My brothers and I chorused as one.

I scooped up the feline, which immediately relaxed, and held her up so I could get a better look at her. "I completely forgot she came in with Mikey! Maybe she knows where he is!"

"Yeah, Fearless," Raph rolled his eyes. "And mebe she can provide us wit' step-ba-step directions too."

I was too excited to retort. "Where on earth have you been, sweetie?!" I asked the tiny kitten, which merely meowed again and purred, rubbing her furry face against my hand.

"I don't believe it," I glanced over at Don, noting the sheer amount of disbelief in his voice. "I can't believe I forgot she was here too! I haven't seen her since that night we spent in the forest! She must have followed us all the way here!"

"Resourceful furball," Raph quipped, eying the cat with interest.

Klunk suddenly hissed and squirmed. I was confused, but set her down. Immediately, she took off for the door, glancing back when none of us moved. I swear she looked irritated as she ran back, meowing frantically at us, and dashed for the doors once more.

The three of us shared an odd look. "What was that you said about her leading us to Mikey?" Raph asked quietly.

"I was only half-serious," I muttered back, watching as the cat hissed and spat at us, running between us and the door several times. "But, now? I'm not so sure."

"Mikey has always said she's smart," Don muttered. "But _this_ is just ridiculous. This kinda stuff only happens in the movies!"

Raph shrugged and set off after the steadily growing more and more frantic feline. "Well, standin' around wit' our mouths open ain't gonna help Mikey, and we don't got any other leads."

I frowned and sighed. "Lead the way, Klunk." I felt ridiculous talking to a cat as if it could understand me, but I swear she perked up, her eyes gleaming, as she sped for the doors once more, turning back to meow at us before disappearing out them.

"I feel stupid," Raph muttered.

"Ya look stupid too," I offered, wondering why on earth I had said that afterwards.

Raph and Don stopped and stared at me, sharing an odd look, before both silently turned and followed after Klunk. I frowned and set out after them, wondering if I was slowly but surely losing my mind.

I was stopped by a hand on my shoulder. "Wait, Leonardo," I looked back at Araskius in confusion. Even though I was grateful for all that he had done for us, I've never been that trusting of a person. When you live a life like mine, you have to learn to be cautious, guarded, something my brothers have a hard time understanding. How could I know if Araskius were not working against us, luring us into a trap? It wasn't as if things like that hadn't happened before.

"Donatello surprises me," Araskius murmured, startling me out of my thoughts. "I would have thought he would have caught the error, but he clearly did not."

Okay, _now_ I was confused. "What error?"

Araskius continued as if I had not even spoken, "I suppose it is justified since the three of you are not Ozzian. It would stand to reason that Donatello would find no fault in my statement."

"_What_ statement?"

Araskius finally acknowledged me. "Ikara was not confused. His mind is very much intact." I stared blankly at him. "Think, Leonardo. As far as he was concerned, you were Ozzians that had taken on the semblances of avatars in this 'movie', as you call it. He was interacting with you as if you were Ozzians. He would have had no reason to keep up the act with anyone besides Michelangelo."

Now that I thought about it, that _did_ make sense. "Then why did you say what you did?"

Araskius sighed and closed his eyes. "I was testing your brother."

"Raph's not all that perceptive."

"Not Raphael. _Donatello_." Oh, right. Great, now I feel dumb. "I was expecting him to notice my error immediately, and to call me out on it. I am disappointed that he did not."

"Don may be a genius," I defended my brother. "But that doesn't mean he knows everything. Besides, he has more important things on his mind. I doubt he was really listening to what you were saying."

Araskius frowned for a moment, before sighing. "But, that is not really what I wanted to discuss with you."

"Then, what _did_ you want to discuss with me?" I glanced back at the ajar doors, wondering if my brothers had noticed I wasn't following them and were waiting for me. If I knew my brothers (and I do, unfortunately), they wouldn't notice until they were halfway to the castle and wanted me to come up with a plan or something.

"Do not worry about that, Leonardo," I started, wondering if he had read my mind or if I had let my "mask" slip for just a moment. "When this world 'unpauses', it will revert back to the instant before I took action. There is really no value in your brothers' leaving early, but they seemed determined, so I did not intercede." Oh. Right. I totally should have thought of that because that's the _first_ thing I thought would happen. "What I wanted to discuss with you was your—momentary lapses of verbal control."

I had to think about that one. "Huh?"

"You are voicing your thoughts much more than you normally would."

"Oh, yeah, that. Why, is that odd?" Now I started to panic. Was something wrong with me? Was I _really_ losing my mind? Maybe I was schizophrenic!

"Be still, Leonardo. You forget, to you and your brothers, this world is merely a state of mind. You are here only in spirit. Because of this, you will find it much harder to hide your 'true self.' You will find yourself letting down your 'walls' and voicing your innermost thoughts frequently."

"Fantastic," I muttered. I'm still not sure if I was being sarcastic or not. I was _happy_ that I wasn't losing my mind, but I was also _terrified_ because some thoughts that I have I _really_ do not want outside my head.

"You can learn to control it," Araskius soothed, quieting my tumultuous thoughts. "It takes determination and patience, both of which I sense that you have in abundance. However, I must go. The pauses in this world do not affect your world. You have only fifteen hours remaining before your brother's mind will be trapped in this world forever." Wait, did he mean—oh, shell! "Farewell!"

"Wait—!" I began, but he was gone.

Fantastic. And here I thought things were getting _easier_. Thank you, good ol' turtle luck! Oh, how I've _missed _you!

TMNT TMNT TMNT TMNT TMNT

_Raph's POV_

It's official. Fearless has lost his mind. It wasn't like he'd never insulted me before, far from it. He just didn't insult people (even me) out of the blue like that for no apparent reason. Sure, he can throw insults like a pro when we're in the heat of an argument, but that had been totally uncalled for.

Maybe the pressure was finally gettin' to him or something. I mean, Fearless has always had way more stress in his life than any seventeen year old should have, but he'd never shown signs of cracking until then.

Not that I was worried or anything. That's Fearless's job. 'Course, if he's suddenly out of commission, I may have to take over.

Meh. Somebody kill me now. A knife in the gut would be less painful.

Next thing I knew, I was back in that throne room thingy—the place where we'd been—and Master Splinter was calling the guards on us.

What the shell? Before I could process what was happening, somebody grabbed my wrist and pulled me out the doors, back down the way I had just been walking. I glanced back over my shoulder to see that the courtyard before the double doors was filling with guards similarly dressed to those at the drawbridge. Their bright orange uniforms made them easy to spot, but the deadly sharp spears that they held made me shudder.

I couldn't fight with a sword to save my life. Sure, I could swing it around and hopefully cut somebody up enough before they could get a hit in, but the things were heavy. It takes some serious skill to wield one expertly, and the stupid short sword I have is one of the heavy ones. I'd had trouble even holding the thing properly, let alone actually wielding it in battle.

Wait, did I just inadvertently compliment Fearless without even trying? Well, it ain't like he can wield sai! He's used to wielding heavy, long swords and tends to overcompensate, using too much power, and they fly right out of his hands. Donnie nearly got impaled once because of that. It's funny now, but he certainly wasn't laughing then.

'Course, Donnie _still_ probably wouldn't laugh about it, but I had no such misgivings.

"Raph, c'mon!" I was startled, although I shouldn't have been surprised it was Leo who'd grabbed me. Donnie certainly wasn't strong enough to drag me throughout the city.

People had started poking their heads out their doors, watching us as we passed. They didn't start to panic until they saw who was chasing us. Then, pandemonium struck. Women started screaming and lobbing things at us, and the men started hollering curses. Even some young, probably homeless, children were jeering at us.

It was all I could do to keep myself from throwing everything back at them, but Leo wasn't slowing and he'd end up dragging me if I slowed even the slightest. Donnie was way out in front of us with Klunk tucked under his arm. For a scarecrow, he was sure running fast.

"Where—are—we—goin'—Fearless?!" I panted, weaving my way through a sea of wagons in a section of the city that was apparently having a fair or something. I stumbled over the loose horse reins of one and nearly got my arm dislocated when Leo yanked me up.

"No—clue!" He hollered back. "I'm jus'—followin'—Donnie! If you—have—any ideas—I'm—all for 'em!"

"Jus'— askin'!" I wheezed. "Slow—down!"

"Did'ja—miss—the hordes of—guards—chasing us?! Slowing down—is not—an option!"

"GUYS!" We both jerked our heads up at our younger brother's call. "I FOUND A WALL WE CAN CLIMB OVER BUT YOU HAVE TO HURRY! THE GUARDS ARE GAINING!"

"THANKS—FER CLARIFYIN'—THAT! WE—HADN'T NOTICED!" I couldn't help hollering back. Leave it to Brainiac to state the obvious.

Our brother's words only made Leo run faster, and I pretty much gave up on keeping up with him at that point. His legs were longer than mine, and he was faster than me as it was without the added length. Trying to keep up was just slowing him down, so I just let him pull me.

We reached the wall Donnie had mentioned in record time, and I let loose a slew of curses. The wall towered above us at probably twenty feet in height. How exactly was Brainiac expecting us to get over that thing?!

"We have no other choice!" Donnie hollered as if he had read my mind, which he very well might have. "You guys can throw me over, but I have no idea about you!"

"We'll figure out a way!" Leo replied, shouting to be heard over the din the guards were making behind us. Then, he scooped up Donnie, and Klunk, as if they were nothing and threw them up. Donnie yelled wordlessly as he flew through the air, scrambling for a hold when they actually went _over_ the wall.

"SORRY!" Leo called up. "I WASN'T SURE HOW MUCH FORCE WAS NEEDED!"

"DON' WORRY ABOUT IT!" Donnie called back. "JUST FIND A WAY UP! KLUNK AND I ARE FINE!"

"Don't know yer own strength, bro?" I teased. Leo shot me a death glare, and I decided that maybe now was not the time to tease him.

"Any ideas?!" I asked after a few agonizing moments, the sound of thundering footsteps drawing ever closer.

"I'm working on it!" He snarled back, looking around us wildly.

I glanced back over my shoulder and caught the first sight of orange coming around the corner. "They're gaining!"

"Why, thanks! I hadn' noticed!"

Yeah, now I'm a hypocrite. So sue me. "Should we make a break fer the gate?!"

Leo glared at me before turning the deadly gaze to the wall. "We don't have time! We don't even know where the gate is, let alone how to get to it from here!"

I growled under my breath, glancing back once more to find the guards were almost on us. "SHELL!"

Leo noticed. "GATE IT IS!" He grabbed my wrist again and we took off, our adrenaline giving us renewed bouts of energy.

I was too busy watching where I was placing my heavily booted feet to notice the footsteps drawing ever closer. It wasn't until I felt a hand on my shoulder and hot, sticky breath on the back of my neck that I panicked. "LEO!" The hand was strong and ripped me from my brother's grasp. I couldn't see any sign of my brother as the guard threw me onto the ground, planting a boot even heavier than mine onto my shell.

"The _Tin Man_ fled," the man growled, sounding threatening but confused. "Has he told you nothing of his true identity?"

"LET ME UP 'N I'LL SHOW YA TRUE IDENTITY!" Okay, the threat made absolutely no sense, and I could tell my captor thought so too, but I was banking on distracting him long enough to allow Leo to come in and grab me. At least, I hope he'd noticed I was grabbed. Chances are he had been too focused to notice, but I was silently praying that he really was as observant as he made himself out to be.

It was then that I noticed the other guards had disappeared. Probably went out hunting after Leo. Good luck. They thought they were tailing a metal-plated vigilante, not a metal-plated ninja.

"Silence, fool!" My captor hissed, pressing his weight down harder on me, pushing me closer to the ground. My plastron protected me from the brunt of the attack and my shell was much too strong for him to be able to apply much pressure. Still, it was vastly uncomfortable and I couldn't free myself for nothin'.

"Do you have nothing to say for yourself, Lion's Mane?" What? Oh yeah! _That_ was my name! What kinda dumb name was that anyway? Who came up with these "avatar" thingies? I'd like to punch him in the face.

My thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a grunt of surprise as my captor was yanked off of me. I rolled onto my shell, anxious to see if my brother had finally made his move or if it was just another guard wanting to get the credit for my capture.

Fate must be feeling generous today, because it was indeed my brother. I noticed with a wince that he had impaled my would-be captor and was just cleaning his sword on the guy's uniform. "Well, don't just sit there," he snapped. "We don't have long before some of them swing back down this way."

I groaned and staggered to my feet, leaning on my brother when he finally came over to assist me. "That guy was a whack bag," I grunted, waving him away once I was on my feet. After all, I'd just been knocked down and held there for a few minutes. I wasn't dyin'.

Leo sighed and sheathed his katana. "We still need to get over that wall."

I glanced around for a few moments before I noticed a pile of wooden crates stacked in the corner of a dark alley just behind us. I grinned and grabbed his arm, pointing them out when he raised his brow ridge at me. He followed my finger, frowning when he saw the crates. "I dunno, Raph. Those don't look very sturdy."

"Ya got a better idea?" I asked resolutely, releasing his arm and strolling towards the crates.

I heard him huff in irritation before starting after me. I grinned to myself and grabbed a crate. I was surprised by how heavy it was. Donnie had given Leo and me a lecture on how our avatars would not match up in speed and strength with our own bodies. I hadn't paid much attention, but now I was wishing I had. Clearly, this Lion's Mane character was much weaker than I was.

I watched in envy as Leo easily hoisted up a crate, looking as equally surprised as me. "Convenient," he muttered, looking to me. He grinned when he noticed how I was staggering under my crate's weight. "Having trouble?"

"Shut it, Fearless," I snarled under my breath as I stumbled back towards the wall.

It took about fifteen minutes, but we finally managed to build a pyramid-like structure that Leo deemed sufficient. By then, I was panting in exertion, watching as my brother cautiously placed one foot on one of the bottom crates and began climbing. He was winded too, but not nearly as much as me.

Have I ever mentioned how much I hate Oz? I grumbled profanities under my breath as I followed my brother. I noticed with a smirk that I had an easier time of it than him. My avatar may not be as strong as me, but he was clearly as equally limber. Plus, I was smaller and lighter, so that probably helped too.

We reached the top crate at about roughly the same time and I sat down on it, still trying to catch my breath from lugging all of those big, heavy crates over here. I had carried while Leo stacked. Not sure why, but I was too anxious to get to Donnie and Mikey's fool cat to argue.

Leo appeared to be estimating the height as he stood on a crate beneath the top one, glaring steadily up at the top of the wall. Our pyramid of crates reached a little past the halfway point, too far to jump, even if the crates were steadier.

"Okay," Leo muttered, turning towards me, having to look down his nose in order to see me since I was still sitting. "Here's the plan. Luckily, our avatars are physically fit, or else this might not work. If you stand on my shoulders, you should be able to reach the top to pull yourself up. Once up, you lean down as far as you can and I'll jump. Hopefully, your avatar is strong enough to pull me up."

I grunted, eying my brother. Alone, he was probably about two hundred, maybe two hundred twenty, pounds. He was a lot bigger than he was in our reality, so it was hard to know for sure. But, with all of that metal plating? I don't know how heavy it was, but it could've easily added twenty pounds to his weight.

"We don't have much choice," he finished quietly, having apparently noticed me eying him.

I grunted and sighed. "A'right, get down, Tin Man."

My brother glowered at me but crouched. I stood up on the top crate and cautiously sat on his shoulders. No way was I standing on him while he moved. Without a word, he stood up and stepped onto the top crate.

I eyed the top of the wall from my new height. I knew I'd have to stand if I had any hope of reaching it, but I could still dream. "Don' ya dare drop me," I grumbled as I very cautiously braced my hands on the top of his head and jumped a little, kinda like those acrobats in those circus shows. Amazingly, Leo managed not to move a muscle as I jumped neatly up, my feet landing on his shoulders. He grabbed them the minute they touched, which allowed me to regain my balance.

"Don't tempt me," he snarled back once I was relatively secure. Or, as secure as I could be standing on my brother's shoulders while he stood on a shaky pyramid of crates that was over ten feet tall.

Not a very comforting thought. "I _do_ hope yer kiddin'," I replied, reaching up for the wall. Thankfully, I was able to get a good grip on the top, but not nearly enough to pull myself up. I gulped, knowing what we would have to do. "Um, Leo? How strong 'r you?"

"Is there a reason behind this question?"

"Can ya give me a little boost?" I asked quietly, my heart thumping wildly. I'm not that trusting of a person, although I _do_ trust my brothers with my life. Nevertheless, this was a whole 'nother ballpark. Leo was going to have to use a massive amount of strength in order to do what I was asking of him. Just because we can mimic some of the moves that those acrobats do, don't make us one of 'em.

"Are you sure you can't pull yourself up?" Leo asked after a moment.

"Positive. I ain't high enough up to be able to pull wit' mah arms. It's like I'mma danglin' from a cliff, er somethin' like that."

"Okay, Raph," my brother finally said after grumbling to himself for a few seconds. "You're going to have to keep your knees _locked_ and stay as still as possible. If you wobble too much, I _will_ drop you." I wasn't sure if he meant purposefully or not.

"Not makin' me feel any betta!" I gulped, unable to hide the fear in my voice.

"You'll be fine, Raph," Leo instantly added, but I could tell he was only saying that to calm me down. "Now, when I count to three, I'm going to thrust you up. All right?"

"Okay," I mumbled back weakly, my grip on the top of the wall tightening.

"One—two—_three_!" The next moment was a blur as Leo thrust his arms upwards. I just managed to keep my knees locked as I ascended, grabbing the other side of the wall once it was within reach. Now, my upper body was lying draped over the top as I clung to it for dear life.

"All right, Raph," Leo's voice sounding dangerously far away, and I was reminded of how far up I was. "I'm going to let go now. Are you all right?"

I had to fight to quiet my throbbing madly heart before I could reply without my voice shaking. "Ready when you are, bro!" When his iron grip first disappeared from my booted feet, I panicked, but managed to quell that as I shifted ever so slightly on the top of the wall, turning my body so I was hanging over the other side.

Leo seemed so far away now. "Ya really think ya can jump this high, bro?!" I called down, wriggling so I was draping as far off the wall as I dared. I would need some leverage in order to be able to pull him up.

Leo nodded wordlessly as I saw him crouch, his calve and thigh muscles tensing noticeably. He eyed me dangling about six and a half feet above his head, breathing deeply. In any other circumstance, he could make the jump easily, but there was his unsteady platform to consider.

Then, without warning, he shot straight up and I surged forwards, grabbing onto his outstretched hands. The pain was excruciating. His weight dangling from my arms was enough to nearly dislocate my shoulders. I bit back a cry of pain as my brother fought to gain some footing on the wall, just enough to somewhat relieve the stress on my shoulders.

Ever so slowly, I inched backwards and he climbed upwards. Soon, I was dangling fully from the other side of the wall and my brother was kneeling on the top. I looked up at him, knowing instantly what he was planning on doing. "No, Leo, don't!"

"You'll be fine, Raph," my older brother soothed me, adjusting his grip on my hands ever so slightly. If I could've, I would've surged upwards and clung to his neck so he would be unable to do what he was about to do.

I glanced down to see just how far off the ground I was, whimpering pathetically to myself, clutching my brother's hands so tightly that my knuckles were turning a lighter shade of green.

"Bend your knees and tense your muscles," my brother called down to me, still soothing. "If you don't, you could break both your legs."

"Another reason not ta drop me!" I called back up, fighting to get my feet to take hold of the wall. Unfortunately, my boots were not made for climbing up solid cement walls, and refused to hold on, resulting in my feet hitting the wall and immediately sliding down it.

"You're going to have to jump anyway, Raph," Leo continued. "This way, you're closer to the ground and less likely to break something. _I'm_ the one who's going to have problems."

Now that I thought about it, he did have a point. I took in a calming breath, glancing up to meet my brother's gaze. We communicated without words and I just had time to bend my knees and tense my muscles as he let go.

I plummeted towards the ground, hitting feet first and throwing myself backwards onto my shell to avoid face planting into the wall. My right ankle twisted just a little, but not enough to be a huge deal. In the next few seconds, something heavy landed in a crouch beside me and I silently cursed Fate for the unfairness of it all.

I heard Leo grunt in pain as he stood, testing both his ankles, before he bent down to pull me to my feet. I hissed just a little when the majority of my weight fell onto my bad ankle, but immediately relieved it when I shifted my weight to my other ankle.

I looked around and realized that we had a _serious_ problem. "How're we gonna find Donnie?"

**AN: Ah, a cliffhanger. We all love cliffhangers, don't we? Anyway, updates are looking to be roughly about a week apart, so I'm suspecting it will take me a week or so to write chapter 7, but who knows. Leave a review if you want and tell me what you thought. Thanks for reading!**

** P.S. Before I forget, I had one reviewer say that I shouldn't end this story so soon. The only problem with that though is the whole "twenty-four hours" thing that I earlier established. Drawing it out too long would make that whole concept null and void. So, I'm thinking of writing a sequel. If anybody out there would like to see a sequel, let me know! It **_**will not**_** be an Oz sequel, but will be a parody of a children's book/any other entertainment source, preferably one that allows me a lot of room to play. I do have one in mind, but I'm not sure yet. But, I will probably try to have a good portion written before I start posting. Many thanks!**


	7. Meanwhile

**AN: I suppose you're all wondering what on earth took me so long. Two months can go by so fast . . . . Anyway, this took me so long because I did a major change to the basic structure of this story about halfway through, and I was having a mental debate with myself whether I should leave it or rewrite it. (I still am.) That, and this story is a real pain in the butt, just saying. I love it, but first person is **_**hard**_**! If this were written in third, it probably would have been done already. Anyway, I finally finished my other chapter story, so I can focus more on this one. To think, this was supposed to be a one-shot!**

**Disclaimer: Oy, okay, here we go. The turtles and Splinter currently belong to Nickelodeon. **_**The Wizard of Oz**_** belongs to . . . somebody besides me. I own Elana, Coranthi, Araskius, and the idea of putting TMNT and **_**The Wizard of Oz**_** together.**

**Meanwhile . . .**

_Donnie's POV_

In retrospect, having my brother toss me over a twenty-foot-tall wall was probably not my brightest idea. The impact my plastron had with the top of the wall was softened by my straw-filled abdomen, but a sharp pain ripped through my body all the same. My fingertips went raw as I scrambled for a hold, just managing to keep myself from falling over to the other side. Having Mikey's cat clutched under my arm wasn't helping me any either.

"SORRY! I WASN'T SURE HOW MUCH FORCE WAS NEEDED!"

Translation: he'd miscalculated how hard he had to throw my nearly weightless body to get me over the wall. Honestly, it would have been easier if I'd gone all the way over, but there's no sense dwelling on the past.

"DON' WORRY ABOUT IT! JUST FIND A WAY UP! KLUNK AND I ARE FINE!" That was only a half-truth. We were fine until I got the guts to let go and plummet towards the ground. But, no need to worry Big Brothers over on the other side of the wall.

I was still dangling helplessly, telling myself I would jump on "three," when I heard the shouts from the other side of the wall. I had no idea what was going on, but I decided I should stop wasting time and just "turtle up" already.

The impact was oddly soft, although my posterior was a tad sensitive to touch afterwards. Klunk was a different story. She was meowing up a storm, wriggling like crazy and demanding to be put down. I finally complied . . .

. . . and, of course, the fool cat took off like a shot. "HEY!" I hollered after her, as if I thought that would help. The adrenaline rush I'd felt from my earlier run through the streets of the Amber City was already fading, and I found I didn't have the speed or the stamina to even catch up with the feline, let alone _keep_ up with her.

"Wonderful," I grumbled, kicking at a tuft of grass in a sad attempt to vent my frustration.

"I see that you are in some dire straits." I whirled around so fast my head pounded. My heart nearly stopped when I saw who was standing not ten yards behind me.

I have no idea how, but I knew who they were. "Elana and Coranthi," I breathed in disbelief. Araskius had earlier told me that I would be incapable of perceiving his true form, so I couldn't imagine where the two Ozzians that had masqueraded as avatars in the guise of my two older brothers had come up with these current semblances.

The speaker was a petite, slender female dressed in a white, flowing gown. Luscious curls so blonde they were nearly white cascaded down her back as her black eyes bore into me as if she were searching my soul. Her skin was paler than her hair, making her appear albino although she clearly wasn't. I could also see the unmistakable points that stuck up from her hair, indicating I was either seeing things or she had pointed ears.

The other was a tall, gaunt man with pale, ashen skin. Stringy black hair fell down to his shoulders, masking a face that looked like a skull with skin stretched on top. His eyes were the only part of him that appeared alive, an exploding amber that drew me in and held me fast. His garment was a long, baggy black robe, similar to that of a monk of the old Roman Catholic Church.

"I see that you know us," Elana purred, looking me up and down before taking a step forward and bending down, her hair falling forward in gentle waves. She smelt of fragrant flowers and morning dew, a combination that made me drowsy. Her dark eyes pierced me as she continued to study me. "And yet we do not know you."

"My name's Donatello," I found myself saying before I could stop myself. "Araskius drew me in here to be with my brother Michelangelo, who has since been captured by the Wicked Witch of the West. My other two brothers, Leonardo and Raphael, are here as well, but they're still in there." I indicated the wall that hid all but the peaked, thatched rooftops of the city buildings.

It wasn't until later that I realized the woman had been working some powerful Magic on me. Her Enchantment was stealing my inhibitions as I melted under that unwavering gaze.

"I sense that the boy speaks true," Coranthi purred, his voice deeply melodious and soothing, contrasting Elana's soft, bell-like soprano tone. He smiled at me and I recoiled at the sight of glistening fangs within his mouth. "You would bode well to speak the truth to us, Donatello. I feast on liars."

"You 'feast' on everybody," Elana interrupted, quite ruining the chilling moment. "And, would you put those things away? You _know_ they give me the creeps!"

Coranthi scowled at her. "I do _not_ feast on _every_body, merely those who deserve it. And why should _I_ have to put away my fangs when you make no attempt to hide those _things_ protruding from your head?"

"These _things_," Elana replied heatedly, "are a good deal harder to conceal than your eating 'utensils' and they don't give people heart attacks!"

"You're just jealous because my avatar's cooler than yours!"

"Honestly, you have no sense of self-worth!"

I watched this exchange in—horror, to be entirely honest. I'd been lost long ago, and I was just trying to regain my sanity before it was lost to me forever. "Hold it!" I suddenly called out, holding my hands up in a T. The two froze midspeech, turning to me with stupefied expressions that told me I had approximately ten seconds before they regained their senses and ignored me. "I'm confused! Araskius said that I would be unable to comprehend your true forms, but I'm _comprehending_ them just fine!"

Elana _tsked_ and shook her head. "Araskius, that sly talker. He'll say just about anything to accomplish his goals. I suppose he hit you with that whole spiel about us having no true forms and yadda, yadda, yadda. I tell you, Corry, that big brother of ours is a mental case."

To say the least, I was _beyond_ confused at that point. "Huh?"

"Oh, Araskius," Elana giggled. "He's convinced that our father is out to get him and he tells anybody who comes here that we're trying to kidnap them and that they only have a limited amount of time before their minds are severed from their bodies. Ridiculous, really!" I stared at this very weird woman, trying to connect her with the Leo that I had known for a whole five hours or so before _my_ Leo had been drawn here.

"Do forgive my little sister," Coranthi suddenly interrupted, wrapping an arm around his sister and clamping his hand over her mouth. "She doesn't have an 'off' switch' as those of you in the First Plane say."

"Huh?" was all I could manage.

"I suppose Araskius didn't explain to you," Coranthi sighed, holding the wriggling form of his sister against him. "He's paranoid or something. I suppose he told you that we were planning on kidnapping your brother and holding him prisoner here, right?"

"Uh—" Right then, I couldn't remember anything that Araskius had said.

"You wanna know about Oz?" Coranthi continued, hissing when his sister attempted to bite his finger, snarling down at her. "I'll tell you about Oz. You and your three brothers are from the First Plane. Oz is the Seventh Plane. In our dimension, there are hundreds of planes, but most are so remote that they are unreachable apart from a transporter of some kind. Our Planes are all interconnected, woven together so that they overlap, layers upon layers in one dimension. Coincidentally, our two Planes are directly overlapping, which allows for easy passage between them. Your Plane, one of the Physical Planes, is a world where we could not exist, for we have no physical bodies. However, we can exist in a Spirit Plane, such as Oz. Although we have no physical bodies, we have what we call 'avatars,' or metaphysical bodies, if you will. We can change our form, but the ones you see before you are our true forms. As you've probably guessed, our world is that of creatures that your Plane deems mythical, but are very much real. In fact, the supernatural elements in your world stem from ours, I believe. We have always been tightly interwoven."

I'd never really had a reason to trust Araskius, but I had because I truly had, had no other alternative. The same deemed true for these two—individuals. Now I was fighting an inner battle within myself. Who was telling the truth? Were these two simply trying to lure me into a trap? Plus, when did Ozzians start talking like modern day humans?

Elana finally managed to break free of her brother's hold and made a good show of slapping him up as he warded off the blows before turning to me. The depth in her eyes was still disconcerting to me, but I told myself to just pretend it wasn't there. Um, yes, real imaginative one I am. Creativity is more Mikey's forte.

At the thought of my little brother, my face fell and my aura took on a darker tone. My two companions must have sensed the change, for they immediately ceased their bantering and turned to me.

"You are distressed," Elana spoke simply, stepping forward and kneeling beside me, the trails of her gown sweeping out and brushing my leg.

"Yeah, well," I muttered articulately, "you would be too if your little brother had been captured by flying ninja monkeys."

Elana and Coranthi shared an amused smile as Coranthi joined his sister. "I wouldn't know. My only 'little' sibling is Pointy here, and I've never had the pleasure of having her be kidnapped by fighting ninja monies."

"What's a ninja?" Elana continued. Her face suddenly took on an excited sheen, and she squealed so loudly that my nonexistent eardrums pounded, "Ooh! Is that like a special outlaw with martial arts training?!"

The creepy thing was that, that was pretty much what a ninja was. Well, modern ninjas such as the Foot clan. Ancient ninjas had been the personal protectors of the emperor of Japan. Many will tell you—heck, _history_ will tell you—that the samurai had protected the emperor, but that was in combat. The ninja were secretive—spies, if you will. They were also trained assassins, taking out those the emperor deemed threatening to his throne and power. The ninja ways eventually moved over to China, where the custom of clans began to take root.

During the time where the ninja were almost exclusively Chinese, they became something akin to "outlaws." They would often be hired as mercenaries for those wishing to overthrow the current dynasty. This time was a sad one for the way of the true ninja. These ninja were in it for the money, not for the tradition, honor, or even prestige. The way of the ninja had become tainted by greed and politics.

However, their Japanese roots eventually led to the return of the ninja to Japan, where they began forming into powerful clans that rivaled each other in the turbulent times. The emperor at the time was a cruel tyrant, and many ninja were seeking to bring about his destruction. Then was about the time the Utroms crash landed, and Ch'rell, an intergalactic mass murderer condemned by the Utroms, was unleashed on the Earth.

Using the name of a _tengu_ born from the soul of a man who had once been a noble warrior—the Shredder—Ch'rell gained the loyalty of the Foot clan, an elusive clan that had formed in devotion to the slumbering _tengu_. The Foot clan, led by the ruthless tyrant, only grew in power as the other clans began to diminish into oblivion, until it was the only one that remained into modern times. At least, that we know of.

Sometimes I wonder if being a ninja is such a noble enterprise. I realize that a true ninja—one who follows the Way of Bushido and practices ninjitsu (okay, _fine_, any form of martial arts is acceptable, I guess)—was never meant to be an assassin, mercenary, or common thug. He was meant to be an honorable servant to his master, the emperor, protecting him with his life. Time and corrupt human nature had changed all of that. Master Splinter was always saying, "The path of the true ninja is an honorable one, but to lose sight of one's focus is to lose sight of one's honor."

The thought of my master sent another pang through my heart and I fought back a whimper. Elana reached out to me, but Coranthi put a hand on her arm. I think he sensed that I most _certainly_ did not trust her enough to allow her to touch me. Instead, they simply sat and watched as the small tears slid down my cheeks.

I'd never asked for this, but it had been given to me. The task of finding my annoying little brother and returning him to my surely distraught by now master, and father, who must be going out of his mind worrying for us.

Then again, he had, had a vague idea of where Mikey had been. Perhaps he knew we were in the same place? I could only hope.

"We will take you to your brother." The announcement startled me, and I jumped, staring up at Coranthi. He and his sister had since stood and were watching me. Coranthi's expression was unreadable, but Elana was an open book. It was hard to belief this emotional airhead had been the cruel, ruthless Leo of this world.

"What do you mean?" I croaked out, hurrying to dry my eyes.

Coranthi frowned and shared a look with his sister before turning once more to me. "Your brother is in no danger." My blank look must have told him I needed more than that. "A friend of ours has him. I believe she is in the semblance of the one known to you as Karai." I should have been surprised, but I had suddenly realized they were back to speaking with that odd formality I had grown to associate with Oz. The change worried me, but any chance at finding Mikey was a chance I had to take.

It never once occurred to me that Leo and Raph would have no clue where to find me.

TMNT TMNT TMNT TMNT TMNT

_Mikey's POV_

A dungeon is a very boring place. And, unfortunately, I'm speaking from experience. I'd lost track of how long it had been since I had sent Klunk out in the hopes she'd, by some miracle, find my brother. Really, I have no idea what I'd been thinking.

I must have sung every song ever written as I paced. After I'd done that, I decided to sing them all again. After I'd done _that_, I decided to count the cracks in the wall. When I realized that I had counted the same crack eleven times, I decided to just sit and twiddle my thumbs.

It wasn't until after I realized how _useless_ twiddling your thumbs really is that I decided to break down and perform a few katas. I felt ridiculous as I began to go through all of the ones I knew. Despite what everybody thinks, I know just as many katas as my brothers (well, except for maybe Leo—but, come on!—that guy's obsessed, I tell ya), and had a right swell time running through the hundreds and hundreds and hundreds and, finally, _hundreds_, of katas that Splinter had made us learn.

And you think you have a lot to memorize. Luckily, my muscles had a much better memory than my mind, and I found myself performing the most basic forms without even having to concentrate. Honestly, I wasn't really thinking at all. I was worried about Klunk. I was worried that I'd never see Donnie again. I was worried that I'd never get away from this loony place. I was worried that I would die of boredom. I was worried that I _wouldn't_ die of boredom before that psychopath in the guise of Karai came back. I was worried—

Oh, wait, I suppose you get the idea by now. I was _worried_. Heck, worried ain't even the correct term. I hate to admit it, but I was _scared_. Especially of the last one. You have never been truly frightened before you've had to sit and listen to a giggly, airheady Karai tell you all about this dwarf that she likes . . .

Add another scar to my oh-so-innocent mentality. Really, did she actually think I _cared_ about how big his—?

"MIKEY!"

I screamed—_not_ like a little girl, Raph!—and fell on my shell. I'd been standing on one foot while I was performing a spinning roundhouse kick in one of the katas and . . . yeah. I was startled. Let's leave it at that.

The dungeon, and subsequently my bubble, was invaded as a small green blur blew into the room and knocked me to the ground. For a practically weightless scarecrow, Donnie packed quite a punch.

"Donnie?" I mumbled, managing to wriggle out from beneath my sobbing brother and sit up. Donnie's not exactly the emotional type—I'm not sure _why_ people call him sensitive—and seeing him bawling like a sap at E.T. was . . . disconcerting, to say the least.

"You're okay!" He continued to blubber, once again throwing himself into my arms, wrapping my neck with his arms as he started in on how much he'd missed me, and how sorry he was, and how . . . nope, I lost him at that point.

Would you believe I was even more surprised to see the two figures standing awkwardly in the doorway? One was a hot blonde chick dressed in a white dress that I had no clue how she'd kept clean. The other was a creepy dude with a serious overbite . . . wait a minute.

"Vampire," I suddenly squeaked, grabbing Donnie and burying my face in his shoulder. I was _not _scared. I was just—um, unsettled. Yeah, that's it. I was unsettled!

Donnie must have heard me (curse his ninja hearing!), since he pulled away from my embrace and gave me a look that clearly said and-you-had-so-much-going-for-you-what-the-heck-happened? Then I guess Brainiac registered just what I had squeaked—er, male turtle-y chuckled?—and he glanced back at the creepy dude.

"I think you scared him, Coranthi."

Uh, yeah, ya think?! I thought you were supposed to be the smart one! (OW! Donnie just slapped me upside the head. It's a wonder I haven't suffered brain damage yet. Donnie just said a slap to the head wouldn't cause brain damage. Shut up, Donatello!)

"I _told_ you to put those things away!" The chick snarled, smacking the man on the shoulder. "Honestly, don't you understand the importance of first impressions?"

The man rolled his eyes, and I watched in fascination as the fangs retracted back within his gums and broadened into regular canines. (I've lost count of how many mental scars I have, but I'm guessing that was number one hundred and two. Raph just said "I always won'ered what 'as wrong wit' you." Oh, shut up, Hothead! EEP! Moving on! I'm telling a story here!)

_Donnie's POV_

Raph's currently chasing Mikey around with the comic book he insisted on reading as we were recording this, so I guess I have to take over. I'm not going to recount the long walk to the Wicked Witch of the West's castle because, quite frankly, it's just plain boring. We walked, and we arrived. Not much else happened.

[Mikey grabs microphone and yells into it] Don't listen to whatever he says! He's just trying to make me look bad!

[Donnie grabs it back and hits Mikey over the head with it] Give me that!

(OW!)

Kindly keep chasing him, Raph. I've got to keep telling our audience about just how _scared_ Mikey really was when he saw Coranthi's fangs!

(NOOOOO!)

All right, then. Where was I? Ah, yes.

"Oh yes, sister _dearest_, and I'm sure _your_ appearance is doing wonders for him."

"Darn right it is!" Elana agreed, baring her teeth at Coranthi.

"I think he finds you attractive." I interjected.

(You never said that!)

Quiet, shell-for-brains! I'm making a recording here! Raph, I thought you were chasing him!

(I lost interest.)

(Can you guys stop arguing and hurry up the recording so we can get to my and Raph's part?)

(Havin' a little ego trip, are we, bro?)

(Don't pretend that _you_ aren't anxious to get past this boring part.)

(I exercise my right to continue my section! I was being wrongfully attacked!)

(Well, I AIN'T, okay?! Jus' 'cause _you_ care, don't mean I gotta!)

(I just think that Mikey and Donnie's arguing is distracting and is going to make our listeners completely confused. I mean, we've been silent up until this point!)

I think that was because we were usually recording our parts alone.

(Well, I ain't recordin' mah part wit' Splintah Jr.!)

(That's just fine with me!)

(I never got to finish my part!)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Sorry about that. I had to pause the tape recorder and take it into my room. Leo and Raph started arguing and Mikey was writing out a rule book so that I couldn't usurp his section again.

Anyway, sorry for the interruption. Shall we move on?

"It's okay, Mikey," I soothed, patting the top of my brother's head. Luckily, he was still sprawled out on his shell, and I didn't have to stand on tiptoe. He was also a head shorter than Raph, which made him much nearer to my height. At least, in this world. "Coranthi's not a vampire."

"Then why the heck does he have fangs?!" Mikey demanded, clinging to me and glaring at Coranthi with wide eyes.

I sighed and patted my brother awkwardly on the shell as Coranthi answered. "I am not a vampire, as you would perceive, young one. Our world is entirely spiritual, so I do not engage in the activities that the 'vampires' of your world do."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

_Mikey and Donnie's POV_

And the Battle Nexus Champion is once again victorious! OW! Okay, fine. It was a truce. We're "working together" now. Meh.

[Donnie grabs microphone] Do ignore my little brother. He's being a bit of a drag.

(Hey!)

Why don't you continue where I left off when you so _rudely_ interrupted me, dear little brother?

[Mikey takes microphone back] Uh . . . let me think. Oh, I got it! That Coranthi guy was explaining what was going on, right?

(You know, maybe we should just skip that part and move on to the part where Karai comes in—)

Ohhh, no way, dude! If we're skippin' anything, we're skippin' _that_ part! Remembering it will bring back all of the disturbing memories and will taint my young, innocent mind forever!

(Mikey, we're the same age, and you're anything but innocent. How about we just tell them what happened "outside" of story form? That okay with you?)

I guess so.

(All right, then.) [Donnie once again grabs microphone] So, Mikey screamed like a little girl.

(A _manly_ little girl!)

That . . . didn't make any sense.

[Mikey takes hold of microphone and says into it] And Coranthi went on with this really long speech about how our Planes were different and yadda, yadda, yadda. And then Karai . . . . Oh wait, we were skipping that part.

[Donnie wrenches microphone away from Mikey] Karai came in to warn Elana that Araskius was here looking for us. Remember?

(Oh yeah! Because Araskius was a two-timing scuzzball who had been playing us the whole time!)

Two-timing?

(Yeah!)

As in, with _dating_? _That_ kind of two-timing?

. . . . . . . . . . . .

All right, moving on. Mikey's partially right. Araskius was apparently a paranoid lunatic who was convinced his siblings were trying to bump him off because he was the heir to the throne of Oz. Turns out, the presence of people like us tore the fabric of Oz apart. He was trying to stall us so that we would stay here longer. Bringing myself, Leo, and Raph here just lengthened our time here even more.

(Speaking of Raph and Leo—)

Oh, right. They're going to kill me when they find us.

(You mean _if_ they find us.)

Mikey, this happened three weeks ago. Leo thought that we should record what happened into our, like, battle records or something.

(Funny how the people reading this fan fiction probably had no idea it was supposed to be a recording, huh?)

Mikey, we're not supposed to break the fourth wall. And that only happened because the author can't make up her mind and keeps adding plot twists. She was stuck so she came up with the recording idea.

(Should we put the fourth wall back up now? I have a hammer!)

It's a metaphorical wall, Mikey. And where did you get that?

(Nowhere! [sound of crashing hammer] And I totally knew that!)

_Anyway_, Karai comes in and—

(We were skipping that!)

And we had to hightail it out of there because, like I just said, turns out Araskius was a lunatic and we had to find Leo and Raph before he did something drastic. Then we had to find the Shinobi of Oz and ask for his help!

[Mikey grabs microphone back and Donnie sighs in exasperation] Yeah! Turns out it was _Araskius_ who pulled me through into Oz because, you know, our presence, like, destroys this place and he's a total whackjob! _That's_ why the Shinobi was so shocked to see us.

(Why do you think the Good Witch of the North didn't say anything?)

I think she was in league with him.

(What about Elana and Coranthi?)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

[Donnie takes the microphone while Mikey is deep in thought] Okay, so we were in this mad rush to get out—

(Maybe they were in league with him too!)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(Whaaaat?)

There . . . is something _seriously_ wrong with you.

(We were trying to get out?)

Right, we were trying to get out, and we managed to get out onto a dead-end balcony, but—

(Araskius was there! And he did _not_ melt, people!)

_Yes_, my dear, sweet brother here decided to throw a bucket of dirty mop water that some lazy maid had conveniently left out on the balcony to see if Araskius would "melt" and, wonder of all wonders, he didn't!

. . . . . . . . . . . . (Well, the sarcasm wasn't necessary.)

Needless to say, Araskius wasn't very happy with us after that, and, turns out, he's a pretty powerful sorcerer. The next thing I remember is waking up back inside the dungeon, stuck in a cell with Elana.

(Lucky!)

. . . . . . . . . . . . Tell me again, Mike. Why am I lucky?

(You got stuck with the hot chick, while I got creepy fang sorta-but-not-really-a-vampire guy!)

O_kaaaay_. Moving on. So, I wake up in this cell, and Elana immediately starts telling me what happened. For some reason, she was the only one whom Araskius didn't knock out. Go figure. Anyway, he used some kind of Blackout Spell or something.

(Don't you find that cool, Donnie? You like all that science-y stuff!)

Exactly, Mikey. I like _science_. Magic is not science. Magic is magic. And science is science. The two should _not_ be used interchangeably.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

What?

(That was deep, dude.)

. . . . . . . . . . . . [sound of a loud smack and a cry from Mikey]

(OW! Don_nnnaaaaaay_!)

Isn't it your turn?

[Donnie hands microphone to a disgruntled Mikey] Why do you guys hit me all the time?

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Okay, okay! Down, boy! I'm sorry I asked! I'll tell my version now. While you were stuck with Little Miss Hottie, I was stuck with Sir Creeps-a-lot. [Donnie groans in background] He was knocked out too, so he wasn't sure what happened, but he was telling me his theory or something. Turns out, he has this really cool ability to be able to phase through walls, and we were able to get out and free you guys!

(Is _that_ how you guys got free?)

Yeah! . . . How did you _think_ we got free, Donnie?

[door creaks open in background] (What're ya two boneheads doin' in 'ere?)

Hi, Raphie-boy! Just makin' a recording!

(Both of you?)

Oh, hi, Leo! Didn't see you there! Donnie had this idea an—

(Okay, why are you _both_ here?)

(We was jus' wonderin' where you two numbskulls went. What, we ain't allowed to worry 'bout our bonehead brothas?)

Hello, Pot. I'm Kettle!

(Where are you two at with your recording?)

[Donnie wrestles the microphone away from a whining Mikey] We got to the part where Araskius knocked us out, locked us in the cells, and we got out. Turns out, Coranthi could phase through walls.

[Raph grunts in surprise, clearly impressed] (Seriously?)

(Yeah, dude! It was so frickin' awesome! You shoulda seen it!)

(Mind if we pick up where you two left off?) [sounds of Mikey and Raph in the background]

Sure, bro. I probably should get to fixing the toaster anyway.

(You're kidding, right?)

Of course I am, Leo. We blew it up, remember?

(You have a twisted sense of humor, Donnie.)

Thanks! But, seriously, I _do_ need to upgrade our security systems again. It's all yours.

[crackling and shrill shriek as the microphone is passed] Come on, Raph! We're on!

('Bout time! You two scram! This is all me 'n Fearless right now!)

(Are ya sure that's a good idea, Raphie-boy?)

We'll be fine, guys. The author wants to move along with her fan fiction.

(Oh no, Donnie! Leo broke the fourth wall again!)

Again?

(We agreed not to break the fourth wall anymore.)

(I SAID SCRAM!)

Shall we?

(Let's get this thang over 'n done wit'! I've gotta punchin' bag callin' my name!)

By that you mean Mikey, right?

(I wasn' gettin' technical.)

**AN: Okay, that was a **_**ton**_** of fun to write! For anybody who didn't catch it, the idea is that the turtles are making a recording (with an old-fashioned tape recorder with a microphone) three weeks after the events of this story. The one holding the microphone speaking will be alone. Anybody else **_**not**_** holding the microphone and speaking will be (like this). Sounds or actions are [like this]. The actions are just for clarification, even though you wouldn't get those if this were an **_**actual**_** recording. Imagine you're listening to one. If anybody couldn't figure out who was saying what, let me know! I tried to make it as clear as I could without outright saying it. The microphone gets passed a lot here, so I hope that didn't confuse anybody. Review if you like, and tell me if you like this better than the original! I need to know so I can get started on the next chapter. The next will probably be the original style, but with Raph and Leo doing it together. Thanks for reading! P.S. I don't really think Klunk is a girl. In fact, I'm pretty sure he's a boy. I just wanted to make him a girl in this story, for some odd reason. I had to pick one, and I was already using female, so I said "Heck, why not!"**


	8. Rewrite of Meanwhile

**AN: I can't believe I'm saying this, but this is the last chapter to this story. I received a review from The Light of Reason, and she encouraged me to keep with my old style. Well, that gave me inspiration to rewrite the last chapter, since I really wanted to anyway, and . . . . Well, I ended up coming up with a creative way to end the story! Yay! Enjoy the last chapter! P.S. The beginning is the same. It's the end that has been rewritten. You know, the part that started out the recording section. For now, I'm keeping the last chapter up just so people know that I updated. Oh, and I'm keeping the old disclaimer, just a little revised, since I don't feel like writing another.**

**Disclaimer: Oy, okay, here we go. The turtles and Splinter currently belong to Nickelodeon. Karai belongs to Mirage comics, probably. **_**The Wizard of Oz**_** belongs to . . . somebody besides me. I own Elana, Coranthi, Araskius, Dria, and the idea of putting TMNT and **_**The Wizard of Oz**_** together.**

**Meanwhile . . .**

_Donnie's POV_

In retrospect, having my brother toss me over a twenty-foot-tall wall was probably not my brightest idea. The impact my plastron had with the top of the wall was softened by my straw-filled abdomen, but a sharp pain ripped through my body all the same. My fingertips went raw as I scrambled for a hold, just managing to keep myself from falling over to the other side. Having Mikey's cat clutched under my arm wasn't helping me any either.

"SORRY! I WASN'T SURE HOW MUCH FORCE WAS NEEDED!"

Translation: he'd miscalculated how hard he had to throw my nearly weightless body to get me over the wall. Honestly, it would have been easier if I'd gone all the way over, but there's no sense dwelling on the past.

"DON' WORRY ABOUT IT! JUST FIND A WAY UP! KLUNK AND I ARE FINE!" That was only a half-truth. We were fine until I got the guts to let go and plummet towards the ground. But, no need to worry Big Brothers over on the other side of the wall.

I was still dangling helplessly, telling myself I would jump on "three," when I heard the shouts from the other side of the wall. I had no idea what was going on, but I decided I should stop wasting time and just "turtle up" already.

The impact was oddly soft, although my posterior was a tad sensitive to touch afterwards. Klunk was a different story. She was meowing up a storm, wriggling like crazy and demanding to be put down. I finally complied . . .

. . . and, of course, the fool cat took off like a shot. "HEY!" I hollered after her, as if I thought that would help. The adrenaline rush I'd felt from my earlier run through the streets of the Amber City was already fading, and I found I didn't have the speed or the stamina to even catch up with the feline, let alone _keep_ up with her.

"Wonderful," I grumbled, kicking at a tuft of grass in a sad attempt to vent my frustration.

"I see that you are in some dire straits." I whirled around so fast my head pounded. My heart nearly stopped when I saw who was standing not ten yards behind me.

I have no idea how, but I knew who they were. "Elana and Coranthi," I breathed in disbelief. Araskius had earlier told me that I would be incapable of perceiving his true form, so I couldn't imagine where the two Ozzians that had masqueraded as avatars in the guise of my two older brothers had come up with these current semblances.

The speaker was a petite, slender female dressed in a white, flowing gown. Luscious curls so blonde they were nearly white cascaded down her back as her black eyes bore into me as if she were searching my soul. Her skin was paler than her hair, making her appear albino although she clearly wasn't. I could also see the unmistakable points that stuck up from her hair, indicating I was either seeing things or she had pointed ears.

The other was a tall, gaunt man with pale, ashen skin. Stringy black hair fell down to his shoulders, masking a face that looked like a skull with skin stretched on top. His eyes were the only part of him that appeared alive, an exploding amber that drew me in and held me fast. His garment was a long, baggy black robe, similar to that of a monk of the old Roman Catholic Church.

"I see that you know us," Elana purred, looking me up and down before taking a step forward and bending down, her hair falling forward in gentle waves. She smelt of fragrant flowers and morning dew, a combination that made me drowsy. Her dark eyes pierced me as she continued to study me. "And yet we do not know you."

"My name's Donatello," I found myself saying before I could stop myself. "Araskius drew me in here to be with my brother Michelangelo, who has since been captured by the Wicked Witch of the West. My other two brothers, Leonardo and Raphael, are here as well, but they're still in there." I indicated the wall that hid all but the peaked, thatched rooftops of the city buildings.

It wasn't until later that I realized the woman had been working some powerful Magic on me. Her Enchantment was stealing my inhibitions as I melted under that unwavering gaze.

"I sense that the boy speaks true," Coranthi purred, his voice deeply melodious and soothing, contrasting Elana's soft, bell-like soprano tone. He smiled at me and I recoiled at the sight of glistening fangs within his mouth. "You would bode well to speak the truth to us, Donatello. I feast on liars."

"You 'feast' on everybody," Elana interrupted, quite ruining the chilling moment. "And, would you put those things away? You _know_ they give me the creeps!"

Coranthi scowled at her. "I do _not_ feast on _every_body, merely those who deserve it. And why should _I_ have to put away my fangs when you make no attempt to hide those _things_ protruding from your head?"

"These _things_," Elana replied heatedly, "are a good deal harder to conceal than your eating 'utensils' and they don't give people heart attacks!"

"You're just jealous because my avatar's cooler than yours!"

"Honestly, you have no sense of self-worth!"

I watched this exchange in—horror, to be entirely honest. I'd been lost long ago, and I was just trying to regain my sanity before it was lost to me forever. "Hold it!" I suddenly called out, holding my hands up in a T. The two froze midspeech, turning to me with stupefied expressions that told me I had approximately ten seconds before they regained their senses and ignored me. "I'm confused! Araskius said that I would be unable to comprehend your true forms, but I'm _comprehending_ them just fine!"

Elana _tsked_ and shook her head. "Araskius, that sly talker. He'll say just about anything to accomplish his goals. I suppose he hit you with that whole spiel about us having no true forms and yadda, yadda, yadda. I tell you, Corry, that big brother of ours is a mental case."

To say the least, I was _beyond_ confused at that point. "Huh?"

"Oh, Araskius," Elana giggled. "He's convinced that our father is out to get him and he tells anybody who comes here that we're trying to kidnap them and that they only have a limited amount of time before their minds are severed from their bodies. Ridiculous, really!" I stared at this very weird woman, trying to connect her with the Leo that I had known for a whole five hours or so before _my_ Leo had been drawn here.

"Do forgive my little sister," Coranthi suddenly interrupted, wrapping an arm around his sister and clamping his hand over her mouth. "She doesn't have an 'off' switch' as those of you in the First Plane say."

"Huh?" was all I could manage.

"I suppose Araskius didn't explain to you," Coranthi sighed, holding the wriggling form of his sister against him. "He's paranoid or something. I suppose he told you that we were planning on kidnapping your brother and holding him prisoner here, right?"

"Uh—" Right then, I couldn't remember anything that Araskius had said.

"You wanna know about Oz?" Coranthi continued, hissing when his sister attempted to bite his finger, snarling down at her. "I'll tell you about Oz. You and your three brothers are from the First Plane. Oz is the Seventh Plane. In our dimension, there are hundreds of planes, but most are so remote that they are unreachable apart from a transporter of some kind. Our Planes are all interconnected, woven together so that they overlap, layers upon layers in one dimension. Coincidentally, our two Planes are directly overlapping, which allows for easy passage between them. Your Plane, one of the Physical Planes, is a world where we could not exist, for we have no physical bodies. However, we can exist in a Spirit Plane, such as Oz. Although we have no physical bodies, we have what we call 'avatars,' or metaphysical bodies, if you will. We can change our form, but the ones you see before you are our true forms. As you've probably guessed, our world is that of creatures that your Plane deems mythical, but are very much real. In fact, the supernatural elements in your world stem from ours, I believe. We have always been tightly interwoven."

I'd never really had a reason to trust Araskius, but I had because I truly had, had no other alternative. The same deemed true for these two—individuals. Now I was fighting an inner battle within myself. Who was telling the truth? Were these two simply trying to lure me into a trap? Plus, when did Ozzians start talking like modern day humans?

Elana finally managed to break free of her brother's hold and made a good show of slapping him up as he warded off the blows before turning to me. The depth in her eyes was still disconcerting to me, but I told myself to just pretend it wasn't there. Um, yes, real imaginative one I am. Creativity is more Mikey's forte.

At the thought of my little brother, my face fell and my aura took on a darker tone. My two companions must have sensed the change, for they immediately ceased their bantering and turned to me.

"You are distressed," Elana spoke simply, stepping forward and kneeling beside me, the trails of her gown sweeping out and brushing my leg.

"Yeah, well," I muttered articulately, "you would be too if your little brother had been captured by flying ninja monkeys."

Elana and Coranthi shared an amused smile as Coranthi joined his sister. "I wouldn't know. My only 'little' sibling is Pointy here, and I've never had the pleasure of having her be kidnapped by fighting ninja monies."

"What's a ninja?" Elana continued. Her face suddenly took on an excited sheen, and she squealed so loudly that my nonexistent eardrums pounded, "Ooh! Is that like a special outlaw with martial arts training?!"

The creepy thing was that, that was pretty much what a ninja was. Well, modern ninjas such as the Foot clan. Ancient ninjas had been the personal protectors of the emperor of Japan. Many will tell you—heck, _history_ will tell you—that the samurai had protected the emperor, but that was in combat. The ninja were secretive—spies, if you will. They were also trained assassins, taking out those the emperor deemed threatening to his throne and power. The ninja ways eventually moved over to China, where the custom of clans began to take root.

During the time where the ninja were almost exclusively Chinese, they became something akin to "outlaws." They would often be hired as mercenaries for those wishing to overthrow the current dynasty. This time was a sad one for the way of the true ninja. These ninja were in it for the money, not for the tradition, honor, or even prestige. The way of the ninja had become tainted by greed and politics.

However, their Japanese roots eventually led to the return of the ninja to Japan, where they began forming into powerful clans that rivaled each other in the turbulent times. The emperor at the time was a cruel tyrant, and many ninja were seeking to bring about his destruction. Then was about the time the Utroms crash landed, and Ch'rell, an intergalactic mass murderer condemned by the Utroms, was unleashed on the Earth.

Using the name of a _tengu_ born from the soul of a man who had once been a noble warrior—the Shredder—Ch'rell gained the loyalty of the Foot clan, an elusive clan that had formed in devotion to the slumbering _tengu_. The Foot clan, led by the ruthless tyrant, only grew in power as the other clans began to diminish into oblivion, until it was the only one that remained into modern times. At least, that we know of.

Sometimes I wonder if being a ninja is such a noble enterprise. I realize that a true ninja—one who follows the Way of Bushido and practices ninjitsu (okay, _fine_, any form of martial arts is acceptable, I guess)—was never meant to be an assassin, mercenary, or common thug. He was meant to be an honorable servant to his master, the emperor, protecting him with his life. Time and corrupt human nature had changed all of that. Master Splinter was always saying, "The path of the true ninja is an honorable one, but to lose sight of one's focus is to lose sight of one's honor."

The thought of my master sent another pang through my heart and I fought back a whimper. Elana reached out to me, but Coranthi put a hand on her arm. I think he sensed that I most _certainly_ did not trust her enough to allow her to touch me. Instead, they simply sat and watched as the small tears slid down my cheeks.

I'd never asked for this, but it had been given to me. The task of finding my annoying little brother and returning him to my surely distraught by now master, and father, who must be going out of his mind worrying for us.

Then again, he had, had a vague idea of where Mikey had been. Perhaps he knew we were in the same place? I could only hope.

"We will take you to your brother." The announcement startled me, and I jumped, staring up at Coranthi. He and his sister had since stood and were watching me. Coranthi's expression was unreadable, but Elana was an open book. It was hard to belief this emotional airhead had been the cruel, ruthless Leo of this world.

"What do you mean?" I croaked out, hurrying to dry my eyes.

Coranthi frowned and shared a look with his sister before turning once more to me. "Your brother is in no danger." My blank look must have told him I needed more than that. "A friend of ours has him. I believe she is in the semblance of the one known to you as Karai." I should have been surprised, but I had suddenly realized they were back to speaking with that odd formality I had grown to associate with Oz. The change worried me, but any chance at finding Mikey was a chance I had to take.

It never once occurred to me that Leo and Raph would have no clue where to find me.

TMNT TMNT TMNT TMNT TMNT

_Mikey's POV_

A dungeon is a very boring place. And, unfortunately, I'm speaking from experience. I'd lost track of how long it had been since I had sent Klunk out in the hopes she'd, by some miracle, find my brother. Really, I have no idea what I'd been thinking.

I must have sung every song ever written as I paced. After I'd done that, I decided to sing them all again. After I'd done _that_, I decided to count the cracks in the wall. When I realized that I had counted the same crack eleven times, I decided to just sit and twiddle my thumbs.

It wasn't until after I realized how _useless_ twiddling your thumbs really is that I decided to break down and perform a few katas. I felt ridiculous as I began to go through all of the ones I knew. Despite what everybody thinks, I know just as many katas as my brothers (well, except for maybe Leo—but, come on!—that guy's obsessed, I tell ya), and had a right swell time running through the hundreds and hundreds and hundreds and, finally, _hundreds_, of katas that Splinter had made us learn.

And you think you have a lot to memorize. Luckily, my muscles had a much better memory than my mind, and I found myself performing the most basic forms without even having to concentrate. Honestly, I wasn't really thinking at all. I was worried about Klunk. I was worried that I'd never see Donnie again. I was worried that I'd never get away from this loony place. I was worried that I would die of boredom. I was worried that I _wouldn't_ die of boredom before that psychopath in the guise of Karai came back. I was worried—

Oh, wait, I suppose you get the idea by now. I was _worried_. Heck, worried ain't even the correct term. I hate to admit it, but I was _scared_. Especially of the last one. You have never been truly frightened before you've had to sit and listen to a giggly, airheady Karai tell you all about this dwarf that she likes . . .

Add another scar to my oh-so-innocent mentality. Really, did she actually think I _cared_ about how big his—?

"MIKEY!"

I screamed—_not_ like a little girl, Raph!—and fell on my shell. I'd been standing on one foot while I was performing a spinning roundhouse kick in one of the katas and . . . yeah. I was startled. Let's leave it at that.

The dungeon, and subsequently my bubble, was invaded as a small green blur blew into the room and knocked me to the ground. For a practically weightless scarecrow, Donnie packed quite a punch.

"Donnie?" I mumbled, managing to wriggle out from beneath my sobbing brother and sit up. Donnie's not exactly the emotional type—I'm not sure _why_ people call him sensitive—and seeing him bawling like a sap at E.T. was . . . disconcerting, to say the least.

"You're okay!" He continued to blubber, once again throwing himself into my arms, wrapping my neck with his arms as he started in on how much he'd missed me, and how sorry he was, and how . . . nope, I lost him at that point.

Would you believe I was even more surprised to see the two figures standing awkwardly in the doorway? One was a hot blonde chick dressed in a white dress that I had no clue how she'd kept clean. The other was a creepy dude with a serious overbite . . . wait a minute.

"Vampire," I suddenly squeaked, grabbing Donnie and burying my face in his shoulder. I was _not _scared. I was just—um, unsettled. Yeah, that's it. I was unsettled!

Donnie must have heard me (curse his ninja hearing!), since he pulled away from my embrace and gave me a look that clearly said and-you-had-so-much-going-for-you-what-the-heck-happened? Then I guess Brainiac registered just what I had squeaked—er, male turtle-y chuckled?—and he glanced back at the creepy dude.

"I think you scared him, Coranthi."

Uh, yeah, ya think?! I thought you were supposed to be the smart one! (OW! Donnie just slapped me upside the head. It's a wonder I haven't suffered brain damage yet. Donnie just said a slap to the head wouldn't cause brain damage. Shut up, Donatello!)

"I _told_ you to put those things away!" The chick snarled, smacking the man on the shoulder. "Honestly, don't you understand the importance of first impressions?"

The man rolled his eyes, and I watched in fascination as the fangs retracted back within his gums and broadened into regular canines. (I've lost count of how many mental scars I have, but I'm guessing that was number one hundred and two. Raph just said "I always won'ered what 'as wrong wit' you." Oh, shut up, Hothead! EEP! Moving on! I'm telling a story here!)

"Oh yes, sister _dearest_, and I'm sure _your_ appearance is doing wonders for him."

"Darn right it is!" The woman agreed, baring her teeth at the man.

"I think he finds you attractive," Donnie quipped, ignoring the fact I was glaring daggers at him.

I might have made a smart retort if, at that moment, the very last person I wanted to see barged into the room, panting heavily. Vampire Dude rolled his eyes and made a gagging motion at me and Donnie. Donnie and I glanced at each other in confusion before returning our attention to the odd scene.

"'Sup, Dria?" Hot Chick asked calmly. "You're looking a little winded there. Something wrong."

Karai, whose name was apparently Dria, seemed to have regained control of her senses. "Ellie, you will _never_ guess what just happened!"

"You're having a mid-life crisis and moving away to the Fields of Misery?" Vampire Dude asked drily. The two women stared at him in confusion before returning their attention to one another.

"You never told me you had another brother!" Dria giggled. "And he's so _cute_ too! Oh, and, by the way, he's looking for you. Something about revenge and whatnot."

Now, I'd been locked away in a dungeon for who-knows-how-long, and I really had no idea what was going on. One glance at Donnie, and I realized that he _did_ know. I was working up the nerve to ask him, warily watching the bystanders behind us, but Donnie beat me to it.

"Mikey, meet Elana and Coranthi," he introduced, leaping to his feet and sweeping his arm out towards them as if he were a showgirl for a game show or something. Wow, that was _not_ an image I needed in my head at the moment, or ever, really. "The ones who were filling the avatars who looked like Leo and Raph."

My eyes bugged out in horror. "Leo was a _girl_?!"

Elana—I'm assuming Hot Chick was Elana, anyway—planted her hands on her hips and glared at me. "Is there something _wrong_ with my particular sexual orientation?"

"Elana!" Coranthi sing-songed. "Are you forgetting what Dee Dee just said?"

"Dria! D-r-i-a. How can you _never_ remember that?!"

Coranthi ignored her. "Did you miss the fact she just said that _you-know-who_ is looking for us?!"

Elana blinked as understanding dawned in her eyes. "Oh, heh! I _totally_ knew that!

"Who _are_ you talking about?!" I bellowed in irritation, hopping to my feet and glaring at the lot of them. Not that I wasn't grateful for the rescue and all—don't get me wrong—but seriously confused turtle over here! Mind giving him some insight?!

"No time for that!" Coranthi hissed, grabbing Elana's wrist and dragging her towards the door. "We have got to leave—NOW!"

"Agreed," Donnie said, glancing up at me and taking my hand. I tried to muster up enough anger to communicate just how I felt about this to him, but I had a hard time keeping up with it. Something in my big brother's eyes told me I'd best shut up and follow him, or suffer the consequences.

"Where're we going?" I whined, not one to _entirely_ be cooperative, as Donnie tugged me out the door and up a long flight of stairs after Elana and Coranthi.

"Shut up, shell-for-brains!" Donnie hissed at me. "We're gonna lose 'em! Just follow me and keep quiet!"

"Keep quiet, keep quiet!" I muttered to myself. "All anybody ever wants me to do is _keep quiet_."

"Shhh!"

"I'm keepin' quiet!" I retorted, but fell silent. It was then I noticed that Karai—sorry, Dria, whatever!—was following us.

"Hi!" She waved cheekily, bounding up the steps after us. "Don't mind me! I just forgot to tell Elana that her brother had some kind of ball that he was tracking somebody with."

Donnie suddenly slammed to a stop and I barreled into him. Naturally, him being a practically weightless scarecrow and all, he stumbled forwards and fell to the ground. In only two seconds flat, he was back on his feet and rushing at Karai—Dria, sorry!—grabbing her shirtfront and staring at her wide-eyed. "_Who_?"

"Ellie's brother!" Dria—there, I got it right!—replied. "Duh! Weren't you listening?"

"No!" Donnie hissed. "_Who_ is he tracking?"

Dria shrugged. "Some turtle or something. I dunno. I didn't ask."

"Donnie?" I murmured to my brother quietly when he suddenly grabbed my hand, turned tail, and ran back down the steps the way we'd come. "What are we doing?"

"He's tracking me!" He hissed at me. "I've gotta get you somewhere safe so I can lead him off!"

"Oh no, you don't!" I hissed back. "You are _not_ leaving me like that!"

"Mikey—" my brother began.

"No!" I interrupted. "I'm staying with you, and that's final!"

Donnie huffed in indignation and pulled me to the right when we reached the bottom of the stairs. "Fine, then we've gotta stay two steps ahead of him."

"Dude, we're ninja! That should be a piece of cake!"

"No, Mikey," Donnie crushed my blossoming dreams. "You're a ninja. I'm a scarecrow, if you haven't noticed."

"Not fair," I grumbled, glancing down at myself and realizing for the first time that I was the only one still wearing my gear. I'm a little slow, all right?

Donnie growled to himself. "I just wish—!" That's when something really weird happened. The air around Donnie went fuzzy for just a moment before it returned to normal.

Except for Donnie, that is . . .

I stared at my brother in shock. "Dude . . ."

Donnie stared at me. "What?" Then he too must have realized his eyelevel was now a hair above mine. "Holy—!" He glanced down at himself in confusion. "What just—?!"

"Please allow me to explain." My brother and I spun around in terror.

The man standing behind us was brandishing a misshapen wooden staff before him, grinning evilly down at us. "Right after I make sure you never escape this world alive, that is."

TMNT TMNT TMNT TMNT TMNT

The world had turned into blackness when we awoke. "Whaaa?" I groaned, reaching up to rub my eyes.

"Mikey?" A voice beside me asked. "You okay?"

"Where are we?" I asked, shifting and burrowing my head deeper into my pillow.

I felt a hand caress my face as the voice continued. "I don't know. Araskius did something to us. I only just woke up. You didn't answer my question. Are you okay?"

It was then I recognized the voice as Donnie's and my pillow as his lap. I groaned and reached up to run a hand down my face. "Couldn't remember who you were for a minute there."

"Same for me," Donnie murmured softly. "I woke up and found you with your head on my lap and wondered who the heck you were."

"Wait a minute," My still foggy mind suddenly recalled something Donnie had just said. "That dude was Araskius?"

"Yeah," Donnie muttered. "I didn't recognize him at first without his semblance of me, but I recognized the cloak after awhile."

"But, where are we?" I grumbled.

Donnie sighed and shook his head. "That's the thing, Mikey. I don't think we're anywhere."

"You mean—?"

"I think Araskius trapped us somewhere between our Planes."

"I have no idea what that means."

I heard Donnie sigh and felt when he began massaging the back of my neck. "I'll explain it later."

TMNT TMNT TMNT TMNT TMNT

_Leo's POV_

"I don't believe it!" I exclaimed, picking the kitten up. Raph and I had only been walking for a few minutes before we stumbled across the AWOL feline. "We actually found her!"

"Congratulations," Raph muttered. "What the heck we gonna do wit' her?"

I shrugged absentmindedly as I scratched the cat behind the ears. She suddenly began squirming and I reluctantly set her on the ground. "What is it, sweetie?"

The moment her feet touched ground, she was out of my hands and off like a shot. Raph and I groaned, quite loudly, as we bolted after her. Raph was smaller and faster and was much more capable of keeping pace with the feline.

As far as I could see was fields, but something odd began happening. The landscape began changing before my eyes as I ran, my bare feet pounding the ground as I struggled to keep up with my brother and the fool cat. The field dissolved and became an enormous forest. The air was chilly and biting, and I was now surrounded by trees as tall as skyscrapers. The ground was a hard mulch-like substance with decaying leaf matter littering it.

"Raph!" I cried.

"Ya noticed too?!" He hollered back.

"What's happening?!"

"You're expecting _me_ to know?!"

As we continued to run, still following the fool cat, the landscape once again changed, this time into a small, old-fashioned parlor room. Raph skidded to a halt long before I did, and I nearly plowed into his shell. We shared a wide-eyed look.

Before us stood a large mirror, framed in gilded gold with swirls dancing inside of it. "What the . . . ?" Raph murmured, taking a tentative step forward and reaching a hand towards the glass.

"Wait!" I cried, rushing forwards and grabbing his hand before he could touch the glass. "Haven't you ever read _Alice Through the Looking Glass_?"

"No!" Raph retorted. "Do I _look_ like the kinda turtle that spends time reading kiddie books?"

I stared at the mirror. "I just don't think—"

Out of nowhere, Klunk appeared and leapt through the "looking glass" with absolutely no misgivings.

"You have _got_ to be kidding me," I grumbled.

"We're followin', ain't we?" Raph grumbled back.

"Yup," I replied, stepping forward to stand beside my brother and taking his hand. "Here goes nothing."

"If we die, I'm blaming you."

"That's good to know."

We stepped through.

**AN: Oh, and I also don't own **_**Alice Through the Looking Glass**_**. Yes, there will be a sequel. I'll probably call it **_**TMNT Through the Looking Glass**_**, if you're wondering, but that's just a working title. I can't believe I actually finished this. Thank you, The Light of Reason! You're the reason why! Ha, get it? Reason? That wasn't intentional, just so you know. Okay, the sequel will probably not be up until I'm either done or at least halfway done with it. It depends on how long it takes me to write it. I'm also working on the sequel to my other chapter story (**_**More Ways Than One**_** isn't really a chapter story), so it will probably take longer.**

** Thank you to everyone who reviewed, the few of you that did! TMNTBMBPrincess1, raph'sgirl4ever, Misterida, 02 (my faithful guest reviewer, you're so cute!), Little-Lost-Neko, NihilityChild (I'm assuming you're not a guest reviewer), and, of course, The Light of Reason. Thank you all again, and I love you all! Also thank you to anybody who favorited, followed, or just plain read this story! Sorry for the two-month wait, but I hope it was worth it. Leave one last review, and give me your overall impression of the story, if you like. Sayonara until the sequel!**


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